Drifter
by Kayaille
Summary: Our heroine is a girl, but often gets mistaken as a boy for her lack of womanly charms. She's beautiful; but not in a feminine way. As her brother visits, he gives her a tip to try out a new game known as Second Life. Rated T for mild cursing.
1. Chapter 1

Drifter Ch. 01-A New Pair of Wings  
Hello hello ^^. This is my first attempt at writing. I mean, writing ANYTHING. I plan to write other things as well, just decided to start with this. I need a Beta/Editor/Sounding-Board/Punching Bag. And one who is willing to put up with cursing, stupid schedules, so forth so forth.

*Edit-Major change to the story. I found that it makes my character THAT much more awesome. (Down with Mary Sues. Thank you!)

*Just to clear things up, my heroine will remain unnamed as long as possible.

* * *

"Hey there sweetheart, wanna come to my house?" asked a handsome man. His fingers stroked lightly down my back. Normally, any other girl would have been thrilled. Not me.

"I'm sorry, I'm a girl, sir." I apologized quickly. Why in the world did I choose to work at a gay bar?

The man's eyes widened. "But you look so much like a guy...and a girl."  
I caught sight of my reflection in a mirror. _A heart-shaped face, big brown eyes, and a slender body._

"Yeah, well, I'm a girl." The man pouted.

"When you get a sex change operation, come find me!"  
That's the third one already.

"I'm home!" I called. My mom popped her head out of the kitchen doorway. "Oh, good. Can you help me set up the table? Your older brother is coming to visit."  
_Michael? I better set up two extra plates. He'll probably have a new girlfriend coming along._

* * *

"So, how are you doing, little sis?" asked Michael. Surprisingly, he didn't bring a girlfriend, but a guy friend, Sean. Today, mom's cooking was surprisingly good. _So, Michael has no girlfriend in tow, Mom's cooking is edible for once. What's wrong with the world today?_

"Fine. School's fine, work is fine, and swimming is fine."

Sean, who was very nice, asked, "What do you do for work?"

My mom snorted. I flushed. "I work at a gay bar." _Wait for it..._

Sean's mouth dropped open. "Re-really? Do you get hit on?"

I murmured into my drink. Sean asked, "...I'm sorry, what was that?"

I raised my voice. "I said, yes, and by both genders, unfortunately." My mom couldn't take it anymore and started cracking up.  
Michael and Sean were exchanging uncertain glances.

"An example?" asked Michael.

"Like today, I got hit on by a guy. He even told me to get a sex change operation, so that I could, quote 'come find me'."  
My mom was still laughing. Michael and Sean started cracking up as well. I threw my hands up in the air.

"I'm straight! It's not funny!"

Michael hugged me after dinner. "Thanks for putting up with us, little sis." Then, he murmured into my ear. "I think Sean might be a little infatuated with you."  
I stared, completely shocked. "Uh, isn't he two years older than you?"

"Yeah."

"Then, aren't we four years apart, since you are two years older than me?"

"...Yeah..."

"Ew, is he a pedophile?"

"Sis, four years in age difference doesn't make a cougar or pedophile out of a person."

"Really?" For some reason, Michael threw his hands in the air.

"Anyways, there's a new game being released in the US. It's called Second Life, so buy it immediately and start playing right away, okay? PM me ingame, and I'll help you out."

"Okay. First off, what's a PM?"

Michael seemed to be dumbstruck. "...Just find some cute guy in-game to teach you how to play. I gotta run to catch my flight back to China."

"Alright. Bye, Michael!" I waved to him as he started to drive crazily out of our driveway.

* * *

Man, Michael was right! A new game with a ninety-nine percent of realism popped out in the US, and it connected with players all around the world, not just the US servers. If it weren't for Michael's forewarning, I would have never bought it in time. Luckily, I did, and started waiting for the online start. Unfortunately, my clock is always set early...  
When I put on the helmet, I was immediately thrust into a pitch black darkness. How dark, you ask? So dark, that if I closed one eye and waved my hand right in front of my face, there was a hundred percent chance that I would not see my hand.

After waiting quietly and patiently for five minutes, I...decided to start singing.  
"Jeegum go ga hanun yaegee, no napulgae jee molah ah. Ah moon ee jook do monomoso haedeh kuh yeah-ah...(Translation-What I am about to say\I don't know if it might hurt you. It might hurt so bad you would want to kill me...)" Odd, why did this pop into my head? I tried again.

"Sora, akakusomeru, kokutan oo no yami, somiko mareta, hoshikuzu tachi, haka naku,somisomoru hai no yuki... (Translation-The sky, is dyed a crimson red, that comes out of the darkness of what needs to be said, the stars we used to know, no longer glow, obscured by all the ash that falls like snow...)" Wait, why am I singing in Japanese? I don't even know that much Japanese. Or Korean, for that matter. I thought clearly on what language I wanted to sing next.

"There's a fire, starting in my heart. Reaching a fever pitch, and it's bringing me out the dark. Finally I can see you crystal clear..." Ooh, Adele.

For the next twenty minutes, I tried singing every song I knew. 2NE1, Adele, f(x), Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars, and even some One Direction. Suddenly, a bright light flooded the room. There was a super beautiful person sitting in a floating chair.

"Uh...hello?" I called.  
The super beautiful person opened her large, pretty eyes.

"Hello, and welcome to Second Life. This is your first time playing, so please give us a moment to scan your body and record your vocal frequency. That way, you will be able to immediately enter the game once you put the game helmet on." I waited for something to happen but the person looked confused. "I'm sorry, but the game scanner seems to be broken. It is registering you as a female."

"...I am a female."  
Her face tensed up, and she immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."

"It's fine, no biggie. I get that a lot." I refuted.

As the girl relaxed a little, she immediately started speaking. "Now that the scanner has finished, please create your character. Please be aware that you cannot recreate or reroll your character."

"May I create two characters?" Cool, I can play as a girl and a guy!

"I'm sorry, but each account is only allowed to have one character."  
Dang it. _There go my hopes and dreams..._

"What happens when you die?" After all, if you only have one character...

"You will return to the rebirth point and lose a level."  
How odd.

"Would you like to create your character now?"

"Oh, yes."  
Immediately, a whole slew of races appeared before me. _Holy mother of-Why are there twenty mysterious beings out of a sci-fi movie before me?_  
Seeing my shock and confusion, the beautiful person said, "Pick whatever you want. I'll explain it to you."

"Thank you! This is my first time playing a game of this type," I explained. "Oh, what should I call you?" I asked, having realized I didn't even know the beautiful person's name.

She hesitated. "My name is Kaoru."

* * *

"Ooh, that's a pretty name." I said, grinning at her.  
Kaoru visibly relaxed. "Well, are you looking for any attributes, such as agility or power?"

I frowned and tapped my lip. "I don't know if you'll understand this, but I want to be androgynous. Like, how I am right now, only way prettier. Or handsome, depending on how you view me."

"Well, then I recommend you choose the angel race. They may sprout wings, are very beautiful, and are already somewhat in between genders."

"Can I choose an angel with brown wings?"

Kaoru thought for a moment. "That's usually not possible, but since you seem really nice, and you logged in almost instantaneously, I will grant your request." _I laughed guiltily inside my head. Hey, it's not my fault my clock is fast._  
A beautiful, slim person with black wings outstretched, and a pretty but cold face appeared in front of me. _Wow, even if that's just a version of me, even I can't tell if that's a guy or girl._

I frowned. Kaoru asked, "Do you dislike it?" She sounded anxious.

"No, but...Can I change the hair and eye color?"  
A window popped up in front of me. It had two columns, and a variety of colors. I selected gray, and the angel's hair turned into a dark gray. There was also a very pretty color of white, tinged very slightly with blue. selected that one, and Kaoru shook her head.

"It doesn't look that pretty with your wings."

I frowned yet again. Kaoru added, "What were you planning on for a name?"

"Some sort of bird-ah! I got it! Her name is Nightingale. Er, its."

"Nightingales are brown and white, correct?" _What kind of weirdo doesn't know that? Er, then again...I love birds. That might just be me._

"Yes."

"So, let's make the eyes and hair brown, and you can wear white clothes. I'll automatically add the beautification effect by thirty percent, if you're fine by that." _Woah. Even I might fall in love with myself after awhile...Oh my god. Am I a secretly hidden narcissist? _I shook myself out of my horrifying train of thought.

"Un. Kaoru, can I meet you in-game? I don't know anyone but my older brother." _And possibly Sean as well. Didn't Michael mention something about that?_

"Sure."

"Okay, now, what else?" _I really, really want to start playing. It sounds so interesting._

"Nothing. Now, you wanted to meet me, so I'll send you to the Western continent. PM me once you wake up, my name is Kaoru. Don't forget!"

I merged with the beautiful angel, and we fell into a big hole that appeared.

My consciousness blacked out.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" A concerned girl ran over to me, with her husband following behind.

I lifted my head, still a little sore. "I just started..."

My words trailed off, noticing both the girl and her husband were staring at my face. The girl's eyes were heart-shaped, while the guy's was indescribably shiny.

My face paled. "KAORU!" I yelled in PM.

The girl swallowed something down, and asked me, "Are-are you a bishou-I mean, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for checking." I got up, unsteadily. My wings suddenly appeared.

"Angel race?" asked the husband. On spotting my brown wings, he gasped.

I shook hands with both of them. "My name is Nightingale."

The girl said, "I am DanDan, and this is my hubby, Neurotic."

* * *

"Nightingale, what class are you going to be?" asked Neurotic.

"I was thinking of being a warrior..." I replied. Neurotic and DanDan were walking with me to outside of the village.

DanDan piped up. "Well, go practice killing deer, since they are the lowest level mobs around here. We'll wait for you by the restaurant in the newbie village."  
I gripped the small knife in my inventory, and stared at the peaceful deer wandering around the woods. I felt like the huntsman from Bambi...

Muahahaha~ Who cares about Bambi now? I had no feeling of guilt whatsoever. The peaceful deer were actually quite vicious (Michael: Isn't that just because you aggro-ed them first?), so I was able to eat venison. I turned to the deer-free hills. Oh, I leveled up? And five times already.

"System."

After distributing the skill points (Kaoru helped me out over PM)  
Name: Nightingale| Gender: Unknown (Kaoru sure has a sense of humor...)| Level: 9| Race: Angel-Black| Class: None| Reputation: 0| Health: 180| Mana: 55| Unspent skill points: 0| Strength: 22| Physique: 11 (What does that even mean?)| Agility: 15| Intelligence: 4| Willpower: 3| Wisdom: 4| Charisma: 6 (Isn't this totally useless?)| Luck: Unknown  
I grinned at my stats. Only one more level to go until I can go change to a warrior...  
I gripped the small knife and stared at the deer. Meat and experience, here I come!

Neurotic and DanDan came over to see what was wrong. Instead of finding a terrified person that was weakly attacking, they found a wildly attacking person that was already level twelve...  
DIE DEER, GO DIE-oh.  
I almost attacked Neurotic by accident. I pulled back the slice enough to not affect Neurotic.

I flipped the hair back from my face. "Sorry."

He smiled. "Right now, your level is too low to do any damage to me, it's fine."

Really? I scratched my head. "So, can I try out one of my abilities on you?" It's labeled Silver Claw.

Neurotic laughed. "Let's see if you can even make a mark on me. Go ahead."

I started with my feet in a straight line, my eyes closed. When I opened them again, I could feel the calm aura radiating from my eyes. In an instant, I reached Neurotic and quickly thrust the dagger into his armor and up.  
Riiip. The sound of his leather armor collapsing on itself filled the area, and the dagger touched his neck.

Stunned silence filled the area. Neurotic was staring in shock. "That can't be, I just had this armor repaired today."

DanDan was also surprised. "That armor was reinforced with steel underneath. You went through the steel?"

I too, was completely stunned by the skill's strength. "No way, this sucked on the deer."

I took a peek at the skill description. "It's supposed to work best on player armor."  
My mana bar wasn't even a quarter full, and it looked untouched. I looked up at the couple and smiled. _Ultimate technique one-Silver Claw._

* * *

A/N: Please R&R! I need help to get better. Please remember, I am a newbie to writing, and a pretty young one at that. And please, please, please ignore my stupid username. So, please review/comment/PM/complain/whatever. When Raven meets the two wanderers, it's before the Adventurer's Tournament.

PPS: If you can't tell I love 2NE1, Adele, and whatever J-Pop song catches my fancy. Maybe C-Pop as well.

Edit-As you can tell, the name changed. FYI-Nightingale was her original name. I then changed it since I thought Raven sounded cooler. And then someone sent me something. And I changed my mind again. Thank you!

I know, I know, the chapter's not coming out. My ideas aren't exactly flowing out either. So, apologies from a still-in-school person.


	2. Chapter 2

Drifter Ch. 02-First Flight

I forgot to do this last chapter...

DISCLAIMER-I don't own Half Prince. Pft, you think I could actually come up with anything that good?

Nightie is used by people who believe Nightingale is female. Gale (I know, Hunger Games. TOTALLY UNINTENTIONAL.) is used by people who think Nightingale is male.

* * *

I swept through the monsters pointing the hooked scimitars at anything that came close to me.

That's right, I said _scimitars_. My name is Nightingale, contrary to appearance, I am a girl, and I am a dancer.

* * *

Neurotic and DanDan waved good-bye. "Gale, if you ever want to join a party, come and find us."

_I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm imagining that shiny glint in your eye..._

I shook my head. "DanDan, Neurotic, thank you for accompanying me. But, I'll travel alone for now."

After jogging back to the newbie village, I quickly noticed the job-changing NPC.

I walked over. "I would like to change my job, please."

The old man nodded. "Then, there you go. You may choose from a variety of weapons." He hesitated.

"That is, if you would like the warrior class. It's not too late to change your mind."

_Whaaaat? The NPCs can offer opinions in this game? Wait, don't tell me I look so scrawny that I can't be a warrior._

"Uh, I'm sorry, but can I be a warrior?" I asked hesitantly. _I'm too scrawny to be a warrior...sob._

"You have met the requirements for a secret class. Beyond that, I can't say anything. But believe me when I say that is a very enjoyable class."

_Secret class, secret class! Yeah~! But, first of all, what's a secret class?_

"Uh, could you give me a minute, please?"

"KAORU!" _Hehehe, Kaoru the invincible game guide._

"Yeah?"

"I fulfilled the requirements for a secret class~! But, what's a secret class?"

"...Hang on. Why would you fulfill a secret class requirement? From what I understand, they are extremely rare. It's a one out of maybe five hundred million chance."

"I don't know. Should I accept?"

Kaoru yelled, "OF COURSE YOU SHOULD! DID YOU NOT JUST CLEARLY HEAR ME SAY THAT THE CHANCES OF GETTING A SECRET CLASS IS EXTREMELY RARE?"

_Hmph._ I shut down the PM channel and turned sweetly to the job-changing uncle. "No thank you, I'll refuse."

His mouth dropped open. "Player, you understand that this is a one in a lifetime chance?"

I shook my head firmly. "I refuse the secret class."

He mumbled something that sounded like, "Must be a stupid player. Ah, well."

_Excuse me? I have an IQ of 148. I am NOT stupid._

_...I think?_

* * *

Kaoru yelled at me. "You turned down a secret class out of childish pique? How moronic can you be? Go straight back to the job-changing NPC and ask! Beg on your knees if you have to!"

Her hair flowed out behind her, creating an evil scene of one scary swords woman about to kill one innocent newbie.

_I turned down the secret class because I wanted to be a warrior in the top ten list. It's not pique, it's my own pride._

Shaking my head, I turned to face Kaoru while heading towards the village. "I refused because I would like to stand at the top with my own skill."

* * *

Kaoru groaned. _That idiotic human..!_

_The Dictator will not be pleased. He specifically wanted this girl to accompany Prince, that other tranny. A girl who could understand Prince's feelings. And now, there's no way she could ever be a warrior and accompany Prince. He doesn't need a warrior, he needs someone who can touch his heart._

"Dictator?" Kaoru PMed the Dictator directly.

"Yes?"

"You saw what happened. Is there anyway that she would accept the secret class?"

The Dictator paused. "Well, I suppose so. I will readjust the system to compensate for her demands. Kaoru, and again, I apologize for what my father has doomed you to. It must be hell not to see Kenshin."

A pang of longing shot through Kaoru. "No," she thought. "These aren't my feelings. These aren't my feelings! I don't want them!" Kaoru knelt on the ground and wept.

_I can't remember anything. Not of my human life, or my hobbies or appearance. Not even if anyone is mourning me, or my disappearance. My feelings are screwed up royally as well._

_Who am I?_

* * *

As I approached the NPC uncle, I thought that his eyes looked unaturally...human.

"Um, hello? I changed my mind about the secret class. Can I change?"

"Young miss, why have you changed your mind?"

_Uh, okay..._ "My friend forced me to. Is it too late?"

The uncle laughed dryly. "Miss, you still fulfill the requirements. Now, I welcome you to the path of a dancer, Miss Nightingale."

_Wait. He called me miss? Isn't my gender supposed to be hidden from everybody?_

The old man's eyes twinkled for a brief moment, and then the human intelligence went as quickly as it had appeared.

"Congratulations. Dancers are a speedy class that depend on swords, daggers, and specialty weapons. They also have limited access to the GM Database, as a perk of being a secret class. Player, please select a weapon." A large mishmash of items appeared on the ground.

I laughed uneasily. I thought that I had seen a rocket launcher for a second, but it was gone.

My eyes roved around the pile. All of the weapons looked cool and trustworthy, but I didn't really want any.

"Are there any other options? The weapons don't really suit me."

A large question mark appeared above his head.

"Eh? But I'm the one asking the question..."

Something smacked me on the head. _Oww..._

Kaoru yelled. Again. "You idiot! The symbol means that the NPC can also give out hidden quests! You could probably get any weapon you want after finishing the quest."

I rubbed my head. "Okay. Then, I accept the quest."

System Notice: Player Nightingale has accepted the quest, "Angel's Tears"

The old man sighed. "When I was young, I met an angel. Not the Celestial race, but a beautiful angel with wings of midnight black. Her name was 'Night Angel'. Please find her for me, and give her this letter. I would sacrifice anything to meet her again. The only clue I have is that she is a Fallen Angel, cast from the lands of the Celestials." The old man's wings fluttered weakly behind him.

_Night Angel...Nightingale...Nah, probably just a coincidence._

I turned to Kaoru. "Well? What are we waiting for?" We sprinted out of the village at high speed.

Our goal?

To find the Fallen "Night Angel".

* * *

We raced through the town, collecting any information from nearby passerby and NPCs. In the end, only one NPC knew about the Night Angel.

The town elder drew a map. "Last I heard, she was around the forest. This area is very dangerous, so please be careful!"

Kaoru went to go buy supplies and potions. I stayed behind to practice some moves with my newbie dagger.

_Thrust to the left, sweep right leg directly into stomach, kick enemy up, jump up, use heel of left foot to kick down._

After practicing on a lot of deer, I reached the point where my moves blurred, even to me.

System Notice: Player Nightingale has learned a new skill, Dragon Dance.

Kaoru finally arrived, so I practiced the skill one more time, then set off for the heart of the forest.

* * *

"...Kaoru?"

"Yes?"

"Is it just me, or are we heading in circles?"

She flew into a rampage. "I-it's just your imagination!"

_We've been walking for about two hours now...I don't think it's just my imagination, I've definitely seen that weird tree at least eight times now._

I walked up to the tree and patted it. "It's a very unsusual looking tree. I wonder what it's doing here?"

System Notice: Player Nightingale has touched Player Willow. -50 Fame.

The tree moved suddenly, and I saw a face in the tree. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

_...What the hell?_

* * *

A/N-Yeah. I know. Took a heck of a long time writing. And this chapter is sort of short. In my mind, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SET PLOT. Just random ideas.

I'm in eighth grade, I have an excuse :)

:3 Thank you for waiting! I also can't promise any releases anytime soon.

Also, please comment on anything you may see wrong with the story. I need to improve!

Peace!

RICK RIORDAN-

You can't end Mark of Athena like that! NOOOOO...

I'm going to have to wait another year for the next book...

Also, I recently got onto the dark side of Vocaloids...

Geez, I'm going to have nightmares.

Also, no one will probably read this far, but I need a picture for the story cover. I'm total crap at drawing.


	3. Chapter 3

Drifter Ch. 03-Perch

A/N: Surprise. It's a tree.

Anyways, I don't own. :P

*Stare* You think I'm awesome enough to come up with Half Prince? I don't know if that's a compliment to me, or an insult to Yu Wo...

*RAGE* Writing this kept on deleting all of my formatting. I'm so fed up!

* * *

I was mindblown. _You're kidding me. Someone would choose to play as a tree? Well, that's original._

Kaoru seemed a bit stunned. "Uh, Miss Willow?"

The tree stomped angrily. Unless the tree was trying to beatbox. After all, who could tell? "I am MISTER Willow, just for your information. I always get these strange questions. 'Why are you a tree?' Haven't you ever heard of Greek myths?" The tree's figure was surrounded in a flash of light, and when the light disappeared, the tree had been replaced by a guy with pointy ears and dark green hair.

I averted my gaze. "Uh, you're nude. I'm not into that, just so you know." _And aren't all Greek tree nymphs girls?_

He laughed, a light sound with lilting undertones. "Silly. I'm a priest. My robe just blends naturally with my body."

Kaoru sounded puzzled. "Is it even possible for you to transform?"

Willow scratched his head. "No, but the GM I talked to said that I could be given this special ability. He was dying with laughter when I told him I wanted to be a tree." _Then didn't the GM just grant your request because only weird people would want to play as a tree?_

Kaoru looked relieved for some reason. _Ah, that's right. Kaoru is a GM after all. She overlooked my creation process too. Of course she would be worried._

A loud noise roared behind us. When I turned around to take a look, I was stunned.

* * *

_My God, is that an angel or a demon? _The GM database privilege kicked in, and the monster was immediately tagged. Boss Monster Night Angel: 850 HP, 200 MP. Level 25. Hidden Quest Boss. Cannot be defeated. Must be captured to complete quest.

The database forgot to mention that the angel was beautiful. Her black hair flowed out behind her, her black wings effortlessly held her aloft, her black eyes were deeply saddened, and her black robes flowed in the breeze. In other words, she was elegant, soft, feminine. Everything associated with women and womanly charms.

Everything I wasn't. My heart thumped, and I slid to the ground. Even if the "Night Angel" was a boss monster, I couldn't bring myself to kill her. She seemed to radiate an aura of fragility and innocence.

That is, until several sharp feathers were flung in my direction as she caught sight of us. Her face distorted into a scream, and her eyes turned bright red, with magical tattoos appearing on her cheeks. _Woah, instant tattoos. Note to self-get some for Michael's birthday._

Kaoru fended off the feathers with her sword. Looking at me, she yelled. "Get your lazy butt off the ground and help!"

I tilted my head while drawing out my daggers.. "Kaoru, we need to capture it to complete the quest."

She nodded. "Ah, that's right."

"...How do I capture it? With a Pokeball?" _Even I, as a total newb in games knew the legendary oldie Pokemon. It was really popular back in the twenty-first century._

Willow burst out laughing. "No, you need a summoner. But, you need to lower the boss' HP to about one hundred if you want a successful capture."

_How the hell am I supposed to find a random summoner in the middle of a freaking forest, you idiot tree?_

I turned to Kaoru. "...Is this hopeless?"

She turned to me, while simultaneously fending off several feather attacks. "Yes, this is hopeless."

Willow examined his nails. "Well, I know a friend who recently started playing. She mentioned that she was going to try to be a summoner..."

Kaoru's yell nearly blew Willow's ears off. "YOU IDIOT! HURRY UP AND PM YOUR FRIEND!" I had my fingers stuffed in my ears, since I already knew Kaoru's scream first-hand.

Willow blinked. "I already did. She said that she is on her way-" He was suddenly cut off.

* * *

"In the name of Arachne, your master, I summon from the Wolves' Den: Wolf King!"

A girl with tangled black hair, gray eyes, and porcelain skin was panting next to a tree. "Wolf King, occupy the black-haired woman over there."

The large wolf that had appeared right next to her started attacking Kaoru. The girl stamped her foot in frustration. "No, the other one!"

As the wolf confronted Night Angel, the girl walked swiftly to us and slapped Willow across the head. "I'm your girlfriend, how is it that you call me your friend? I heard everything! You didn't even bother replying to my PMs, only sending me a PM when you felt like it! And now, I find you consorting with that woman over there and that wo-wo-wo..." The girl finally noticed my presence. I was up in a tree, watching the fight, my lips curled into a smile.

The girl's eyes opened wide. "No way, you're gay?" She slapped Willow twice. I felt sorry for Willow, so I dropped down, out of the tree. Willow's face was bright red and puffy from being hit three times.

"My name is Nightingale, and the black-haired woman over there is Kaoru." I gestured in Kaoru's direction.

The girl stammered out, "M-my name is Arachne, and I'm a level twenty two summoner. Can I marry-I mean, party with you?"

Willow mumbled, "Now who's being unfaithful?"

Arachne spun around quickly, kicked him in a sensitive area (I pray that you will be able to have kids), and spun back around.

I scratched my head. "I did need a summoner, and it's great that you came so quickly. But, could you do me a favor, and capture that dark-haired angel over there?" I pointed to Night Angel, who was by now struggling to fight with the Wolf King.

Arachne nodded quickly, her eyes dancing with the light of being offered a challenge. She pointed a black staff embedded with a black and red gemstone "Wolf King, hold the angel in place."

The wolf hugged the angel. Arachne stamped her foot. "Gah...whatever." The staff began to glow with an ominous light. "I, Arachne, command this beast to submit to my will. Capture!"

System: Boss Night Angel successfully captured.

Night Angel glowed, then stopped struggling in the wolf's grip. "What?" shouted Arachne. "I did the capture correctly! It's all your fault, you stupid tree!" She slapped Willow again, but Willow avoided the blow, slipped under her guard and hugged her tightly. Arachne blushed, and calmed down.

I approached Night Angel. _Maybe..._ I handed the letter to the angel, who was now sane again. She took the letter, and read it. Her face lit up, like a small child receiving a gift of Christmas morning.

She smiled so beautifully and tears sparkled as they fell down her cheeks. "Player, thank you for this gift. As a testimony to your unwavering will and limitless strength, I will bestow upon you several gifts. Please use them well." Night Angel's body disappeared in a flash of light.

System: Player Nightingale has completed quest "Angel's Tears". Player EXP +1000, Player Total EXP= XXXX/XXXX. Please check your inventory for special prizes.

System: Player Nightingale has leveled up, Player EXP= XXX/XXXX

I checked my inventory, and a pair of daggers were there. _That's really boring. Honestly? Daggers? I was hoping for something fun-_

I pulled out the daggers, and they expanded.

System: Black Swan-Left hand scimitar. Attack +25, Defense +25. Will give a faster HP recovery, agility increase, and defense increase if paired with White Swan AND if user is a Dancer. Growing-type weapon. Dancer-specific weapon.

System: White Swan-Right hand scimitar. Willpower +25, Charisma +25. Will give a faster MP recovery, accuracy increase, and magical resistance increase if paired with Black Swan AND if user is a Dancer. Growing-type weapon. Dancer-specific weapon.

_I changed my mind. This weapon is seriously awesome. The questline seems like it was made for me!_

Finally, I pulled out the last reward-a large, blue and green egg. "Aren't eggs supposed to be white?"

Arachne was stunned. "That's a pet egg. Hatch it at the pet store." She called to Willow. "Hey, let's go to the pet store!"

I nodded happily. "There. Kaoru, would you like to come with us?" After all, she was my first buddy in this game (DanDan: What am I, chopped liver?).

Kaoru hesitated slightly, and then shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't. But, I'll keep in touch with you. See you!" Kaoru ran away really quickly.

_Wait...Kaoru, why are you going?_ I could only watch helplessly as her figure blurred into a single speck into the distance. _She's very fast._

I could only scratch my head helplessly and head off to the closest city, Histel.

* * *

Our group managed to attract quite a lot of attention as we entered through Histel's main gate.

"Kyaaah! That green-haired boy is so hot!"

"Wow. Look at that girl, she seriously is a knockout."

And of course...

"Who is that girl at the end? She's seriously stunning. Could she be a model in real life?"

"No, I think that's a guy. He's really tall and elegant."

"But, she has really pretty eyes and hair. Oh my God, I can't tell."

I ignored most of this, and Arachne was busy hugging Willow out of jealousy as some girls dared to approach Willow.

_After working in that bar for God-knows-how-many-years, I've pretty much tuned out the praise and compliments to background noise. Besides, if anyone touched me, I think I'd kill them, resurrect them, and then kill them again._

_...Did that girl just try to hug me before getting swatted away by Arachne?_

_I imagined it, I imagined it, I imagined it. This is an online game, I forgot that contact is allowed. Crap. I can't keep anyone away with the threat of suing..._

I stared warmly out into the crowd. _Must...keep...intent to kill...from...rising..._ "My name is Nightingale, a dancer, and a new player to this game. Please don't take care of me, since I don't want to bother anyone." _That sounded quite awkward._

Arachne suddenly covered her nose, with blood spurting out between her fingers. When I turned to Willow to ask him to heal Arachne, he also was in the same position. _Ah, no protection. Thank goodness I'm an angel, I can use these wings to fly, right? They shouldn't be totally useless...  
_

I spread the wings, and flapped them experimentally. I rose a little, and kept flapping until I cleared the jumping and hugging range of the crowd.

Stunned silence filled the city.

"Angels can fly?"

"No way, I'm an angel and I can't fly. My wings are decoration only!"

The crowd seemed to come to a unanimous conclusion. "That's not a player. That's a GM or NPC!" _I feel very odd. Like I want to punch something._

I snarled, and the sound echoed through out the street. "I'm not a GM! Or a NPC!" I could feel my eye-lasers burning through the crowd on the street.

* * *

Very shortly afterwards, I was left alone. Arachne and Willow were also given a wide berth. Although I could still feel about fifty pairs of eyes following my every movement, which was slightly creepy.

_Gah. Whatever. I'll just hatch the darn egg and get out._ I smiled politely at the store owner NPC. "May I hatch this pet please?"

"You may. The hatching fee is one gold."

I turned to Arachne and Willow. They shook their heads, so I sighed. "I'll pay for it, so it's my pet, then."

I handed over the gold, bit my finger, and dripped the blood on the egg. _Ow. I really want a bandage._ The egg shimmered, and then brilliantly shone.

System: Player has successfully hatched pet.

I picked up the adorable cat. "Oh my God! She's so cute!"

System: Player has recieved a pet. Please choose a name for your pet.

"What do I do?! I've never had a pet before!" I squealed and hugged the cat again. She meowed and licked my face. I snuggled her warm body next to my face when Arachne's fountain of nose blood started up again.

Willow, fortunately, stayed blood free. He calmly suggested, "Penelope? Harry? Dog?"

"Those are horrible ideas. What the heck? Why would you name a cat 'Dog'?"

The shop owner NPC gave an opinion. "How about Viole*?"

I shrugged. "It's okay." I turned to face the cat. "Your name is Viole!"

...

System: Name is already taken. Please try again.

_You damn system!_

* * *

A/N: Hello. It's updated! (Finally.)

Viole...I'm sorry, I couldn't stop myself. Tower of God all the way!

Anyways, this took a long time to get out. Thank you for waiting!

Also, I'm not joking. Hatsune Miku is awesome and everything, but I really need a cover image. All you artists out there, donate an image unless you want to see a horrible one of my own! :3

Please, read and review. I promise to *try* to write a little faster. I have a lot of ideas for where this is heading, but I just can't write them the way I want them.

Don't kill me for not updating anytime soon!


	4. Chapter 4

Drifter Ch. 04-Support

A/N: So, yeah. It's here.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than my OCs. Even the Vocaloid references are not mine, as much as I'd like to own the Vocaloids. :). A cookie if you know where all of the names below come from.

* * *

Viola perched comfortably on my shoulder, purring happily. We were off to the Central Continent, and trying to win fame, glory, and eternal recognition in the annals of history...

What? You say that you don't know why her name is Viola? That's a stupid question to ask. If you need to know, well, I started off by trying to name her Viole...

* * *

"Agh...Viole doesn't work? Then, let's try Miku!"

System: Name is already taken. Please try again.

"Seriously? Then how about Rin?

System: Name is already taken. Please try again.

"Oh my god! Misty, Sakura, Sora, SeeU, Donald Duck, Rapunzel, Hikari, Gakupo, Haruhi, Kubera, Psy, Koon, Kaoru..." _Oh. Kaoru? I don't know if Kaoru-the person-would like me naming a cat after her..._

System: Names are already taken. Please try again.

"DAMN IT!"

Arachne made a tenative suggestion. "Uh, how about trying to not use super-old manga names? And how about using female names?"

I glared at her fiercely. "The Vocaloids are not a manga!"

System: Name is already taken. Please try again.

"That wasn't even a name!"

System: Name is already taken. Please try again.

I calmed down and thought after several minutes of raging and cursing. "How about I just change Viole to Viola?"

System: Pet name accepted.

I wiped sweat off of my brow. _About time._ Viola lept onto my shoulder, perched there comfortably. I scratched her head, and she purred happily, opening her eyes to show me her blue and green irises. They almost seemed human.

* * *

After the pet naming incident, we wandered out into the streets, and found a deserted spot.

"Here, show us your techniques so we can go hunting!" Arachne urged. _You don't need to make up a half-hearted lie just so you can stare._

Nevertheless, I began to dance, until Willow stopped me. "Hey, don't you need your scimitars?"

I pulled those out too, and started. First a graceful slash, followed closely by reversed blow with White Swan coming to a defensive position while Black Swan was poised above my head. _Begin!_ I danced, melding all of my previous ultimate techniques into a smooth sequence. Like silk on water, they flowed naturally together, intermingling to create a soft melody of footsteps and metal through the air. I finished by ending in the ending position of Silver Claw.

A lone voice spoke, making both Willow and Arachne jump and wake up out of their coma. "That was amazing." The figure stepped forward, but while keeping their face hidden under their cloak. "Your performance is amazing. May I inquire for your name?" The voice was low and warm.

I was a little worried. _That erudite manner of speaking sounds awfully similar to someone I met recently. Who could it be? _"My name is of no interest to you, until your own is revealed." _Woah, the erudite manner of speaking got transferred to me as well._

The figure lifted the hood off his cloak, and what I saw made me start. "What?" Dark hair, angelic features, beautiful dark eyes...

Willow also seemed similarily stunned. "You...aren't you Night Angel?"

_No way, don't tell me captured NPC bosses can actually appear as players?_

The girl smiled faintly. "My name would be Night Angel, but not in the way you are thinking. I am a player of Second Life."

_Huh. So I guess it's a coincidence._ "Miss Night Angel-"

I got cut off as Night Angel began to stutter and blush. "M-my name isn't Night-I mean i-it is, but..."

Willow finished her sentence. "...But you aren't a miss."

* * *

"...So, the graphic designers of the game had a laugh and based the design off of me, their boss." Night Angel finished explaining.

Now that I looked closely at Night Angel, I could tell the difference. His features were a little sharper, more masculine, but dangling on the edge of androgynous. He also examined me as well. I casually ate the pasta on the table while studying his face. _Wow. This bar's food is seriously good._

"Say, Nightingale, could you possibly live in XXX, XX of USA?" he asked.

"Yeah." _Now I'm really convinced I've met him before._

"And, even more impossibly so, could you have an older brother who's name was Michael?"

"Yeah...how did you know?"

He smiled happily. "Don't you remember me? I'm Sean, your brother's friend. I came over the other night for dinner."

"Oh. Oh! I remember now!" _Did the pasta remind me?_

Willow PMed me. "You really don't remember, don't you?"

I PMed back. "Shut up and let me handle this! I actually remember." Willow gave me an exasperated look.

I smiled warmly. "Of course, how could I forget? You're in China, and you work for Second Life's corporation...Does Michael also work there?"

He hesitated just the smallest bit for replying. "Of course. Your brother works in the computer research department."

Arachne butted in. "Excuse me for cutting into your precious moment, but do you two know each other in real life?"

"Yeah." I answered quickly, not wanting Night Angel to say anything potentially embarrassing. "We met very recently."

Her eyes sparkled, and she turned to Night Angel. "Hey, then what gender is Gale in real life?"

He looked puzzled. "Shouldn't gender show up on the profile?"

I accessed my stats, and chose the option to make it visible to everyone else.

Name: Nightingale| Gender: Unknown| Level: 28| Race: Angel-Brown| Class: Dancer| Reputation: 250| Health: 750| Mana: 300| Unspent skill points: 0| Strength: 40+25 (65)| Physique: 11 (I still don't know what this means.)| Agility: 32+5(37)| Intelligence: 8| Willpower: 9+25 (34)| Wisdom: 8+15 (23)| Charisma: 8+25(33)| Luck: Unknown

"Gender_ unknown_?" Night Angel's eyes bugged out.

I nodded. "They were a special gift from a GM who overlooked my creation process."

Arachne added, "That's right! I also got the chance to make these special tattoos on my face." She tilted her head, and the faint design of a lacey spiderweb appeared on her left cheek, spreading down to her neck.

Willow snorted. "I get to transform. GM special gift."

Night Angel looked extremely unhappy. "My department is always competing against the GM department to see who would get a higher budget, but pulling stuff like this is going a little too far..."

"How would you get a higher budget by pulling pranks?'

"Player reports. You can choose to commend or condemn any staff department." He sighed. "I guess my department is going to have to come up with something new as well..."

Please don't. Besides that, why in the world are all of the guys I've met so far seriously feminine? If you want to do something, work on THAT.

Arachne whined unhappily. "That's besides the point. What gender is Gale in real life?"

Night Angel PMed me. "Uh, what should I tell her..?"

I laughed. "Tell her," I PMed back, "I'm a guy. That should be interesting to watch."

Night Angel sighed, and turned to Arachne. With a completely emotionless face, he proclaimed, "Nightingale is a guy, IRL."

"KYAAAAAAA! Oh my GOD! You live in the US, right? Willow, take me to the US!"

Willow snapped, "Of course not! One, teleportation fees are ridiculous. Secondly, _did you forget that I'm your boyfriend?_"

The couple started to fight. While watching the show with popcorn, I chatted quietly with Night Angel. "Hey, you want to join our party?"

He grinned happily. "Sure! My name is Night Angel, level 29, race demon, and I am a demon slayer."

"Demon slayer who is a demon...No, I don't even want to ask."

"I'm a slayer that happens to be a demon. Big difference. I attack with a whip, and it can go either long or short distance."

"Then, welcome to Happy Fun Time." A shoe flew past me and hit Night Angel. "Ouch."

He seemed completely unaffected, and casually wiped the blood off. "Can I challenge you to a duel? I'm curious to see how a Dancer would fight."

"Same with me."

I picked up my pasta for to-go, we walked outside together, and made small chat while walking out of the city limits as the system announced that Willow and Arachne had achieved the unprecedented record of getting a negative reputation. After all, they had destroyed the bar we had been eating in. _I hope the bar is okay, since that pasta is the best I've ever had._

* * *

After healing the damage done by Arachne's shoe, Night Angel unfurled his whip, a black whip braided with elements of silver and blue.

Likewise, I finished eating my take-out pasta, and pulled out White and Black Swans. They expanded into full length, and had actually grown a bit larger. _Ah, so that's what growing-type weapon means. They literally grow?_ But, as I watched, they immediately adjusted to their normal length.

_Start!_ I darted towards Night Angel, who was about ten meters away. Likewise, he was also sprinting at full speed. I saw the whip curl towards me, and I instinctively held out White Swan to fend it off. The whip curled around White's blade, but I couldn't cut it.

_That thing is like iron!_ I tried to disengage White from the whip, but Night Angel jerked it away, and it fell out of my hands. The whip returned to Night Angel's side, and he stood, smirking rather happily. I leapt back a couple of meters, creating some space between him and me.

_Grr...Sorta pissing me off. I'm gonna go wipe that sorry look off his face!_ I immediately darted forward, and intercepted the whip with Black, but this time, I jerked Black and the whip came sailing over to me. _Use the blade to catch it, then concentrate...Ah! Caught the whip. _I smiled casually, enjoying the look on his face. _His expression reminds me of Mom when I showed her my report card in eighth grade...Ahem. Focus._

I held up the whip. "I have two weapons, while you have one. That's why I can afford to make mistakes."

He finally spoke. "So, you're able to use your left hand as well as your right hand in combat."

"How did you know that?" _It wasn't like I have a huge sign on my head that said that._

"The way you kept attacking. That black sword can't fit in your right hand, so I thought you would give up once your dominant hand was useless." He grinned. "I didn't know you were left-handed."

"I'm not." My declaration surprised him. "I'm ambidextrous. That should surprise some people."

Night Angel smiled warmly, surprising me and bringing a blush to my face. _He is so cute when he does that! _"So your gender isn't the only ambiguous thing about you."

Just then, Arachne's voice could be heard. "Gale? Night? Where are you guys?"

Willow also shouted. "We made up! Let's go form a party at the adventurer's guild. We should take on a quest!"

"Now, I'm the only one who knows you're a girl in real life. What's going to happen now-Wait...wh-what?" He started to stutter. I held out my hand to Night Angel.

"Flying is a lot faster than walking back to the city. Let's go." I said mildly. He took my hand, but his hand was clammy. _He really is nervous, isn't he?_

I spread my wings, breathed deeply, and thought,_Up_. My wings unfurled, and started beating rapidly, lifting me up several meters into the air.

"Waah! Nightie, what are you doing?" Night Angel's yell made me laugh. _So he wasn't scared of holding my hand. He was scared of heights_.

"As a graphic designer leader, you should be paying attention to any details." I scolded him, and I flew towards Arachne's voice.

I don't know how to explain this, but flying felt almost as natural as breathing. I laughed, exhilarated, swooping up towards the moon. _This is a true second life. _My chance to live.

I swirled around in a circle, letting the black overcoat swish and lift. When Night Angel sounded like he was about to lose his cookies, I quickly dropped him off where Arachne was.

"What the-Why are hot guys falling out of the sky?" Arachne didn't sound too unhappy.

My singing drew her attention up. "So let the sky fall..."

Grinning at Arachne happily, I said, "Doesn't it fit? Besides that, what should our team name be?"

"Hot Bishie Grou-"

"Rejected." Three men (oops, two men and one female) reponded simultaneously.

"Ao no Tsuki." Night Angel sounded proud of his idea.

"...Excuse me, but what does that mean?"

Willow translated softly. "Blue Moon."

I smiled softly at the bright moon above. "So, once in a Blue Moon does a team like ours come together." I turned to face our group, firm with resolve.

"We'll create history together."

"YEAH!" They pumped their fists in the air.

Night Angel suggested, "We should enter the Adventurer's Tournament! That really would be fun!"

"Okay, I'll register in Histel tomorrow-"

"No. We should go to the Central Continent!" Arachne was practically bouncing up and down.

"Why? Ship fees are ridiculously expensive, and there's no point in going." As always, Willow was practical and money minded.

Arachne rolled her eyes. "A bishie named Prince is getting reaaally famous there. Do you even need to ask? Plus, I hear that there is also another bishie, named Guiliastes. Duh."

I looked at Willow. "Are you going to be fine with this?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "She's just staring. Not going to do any harm."

"Well, then let's go register our party, take the boats, and-"

"Nightingale. We need two more members to balance out our team. A mage and an archer, since we already have two warriors. A six member team is a must, especially since that's a requirement to join the Adventurer's tournament."

I waved my hand lazily. "Eh. We'll just find them as we head along. Now, let's hurry to Mericyll, since it's the port city."

_Hey, Central Continent. You ready for me?_

* * *

A/N: Yay! I wrote it! Surprisingly, this chapter took a while to write and self-edit. Maybe because it's important, or at least a little more serious.

:3 ...cover picture...Need I say any more?

Anyways, I currently have the archer and mage's characters set in mind already. Be prepared to be blown away, because I haven't written _any_ of the next chapter. As always, if you see any mistakes, please tell me!

Ahahaha...the names...Ahahahaha, the names are so...reflective of what I read or watch. They really are random.


	5. Chapter 5

Drifter Ch. 05-Ocean Breeze

I don't own (No, no long author's note today. Way too lazy...).

EDIT: Thank you, dartya, for correcting me. I accidentally switched Michael's and Sean's names. So, thank you!

* * *

"Ah, that feels good." The ocean breeze truly felt good, and I was relaxing in the sun while my fellow party members were off doing a quest.

I was relaxing because I just died. The darn dragon somehow powered through Night Angel's whip, and hit me squarely in the chest. Me, who had coincidentally forgotten to buy health potions...

Me, who had 1 health point before the dragon's tail sent me flying.

So, after the nausea, sickness, and pain of after-death, I sat down to relax. We had been doing so many quests just to earn money for our four-man party to get on a boat to the Central Continent. After that we still needed to find two more members, travel to the city hosting the tournament, and then somehow beat the crap out of everyone else to rise to the top...

_Our dream really is hopeless. I can only hope that we get good EXP out of this..._

Arachne appeared next to me, her face pale. I hurriedly got out of the way as she began to hurl.

"Ugh. We beat the dragon, and got all of the entrails." She held up a large leather sack full of various steaming items.

"How did you die, if you died after you beat the dragon?" I was curious. _Did you suicide or something?_

"The stench. Ugh, it was so smelly." Arachne held her stomach gingerly while I stared in shock. _We should bottle that stench if Arachne can't stand it. After all, she has a horrible sense of smell. _ I sighed and shook my head. _Thank my lucky stars I wasn't around for that. I really can't stand blood and gore. I even hate dissections, since I had to do one in middle school, and I fainted. Everybody refuses to tell me what happened, probably because they feel sorry for me._

"The others should be coming back soon, since they have to travel back." Arachne looked at me closely. "You look...a little worried. Are you okay?"

_I've just had a revelation. I thought Arachne was just another mindless fan girl who squee'd over bishies and wrote fanfiction _(A/N: Even my characters are insulting me...)_! _Arachne continued. "After all, my team of bishies has to be the best in the tournament, otherwise we're going to lose to Prince's wife! I definitely can't lose, especially with you and Night Angel."

"...Then what about Willow?" _I take my previous statement back. Arachne is a mindless fangirl._

Arachne shrugged. "I see him in real life everyday. You forgot? He's my boyfriend."

"I didn't forget, but shouldn't you stay faithful to him in game?" _He's really sweet and loyal. You should look after him._

"You're so sweet to care about me and Willow! You are totally the perfect boyfriend! Hey, ditch your girlfriend, and be my second boyfriend-"

She was interrupted by Willow sweeping her into a hug and glaring at me. _Dude. I am a girl. I'm so not making a move on your fangirling girlfriend_.

Night Angel held up a large bag of steaming intestines. "I got it. Plus, we took the tail, wings, and horns off of the dragon." He held out a wing to me. "Here."

The wing was pure black, but shimmered ever so slightly, taking on faint shades of blue or green. It was super-soft, and really pliable. "Thanks."

I held it up to protect me from the sunlight when Arachne screamed. "Oh no! Where did Gale go? He was right there..."

"Uh, right here." I waved my hand around. "I'm right in front of you."

Her hand bumped into my face. _Godam-_"Huh? I can feel your face, but I don't see you."

Night Angel looked close to tears. "Wah-Nightingale, I'm sorry I gave you such a crappy present! Please come back!"

Willow knocked them both on the head. "You idiots. Gale is just invisible."

I lowered the dragon wing, which really didn't protect me from the sun at all, and was suddenly jumped upon by both Night Angel and Arachne.

Night Angel's big teary eyes were right in my face. "Uwah~Nightingale, you're back!" _Agh...I__s this really the calm, mature guy Michael brought over for pasta?_

I didn't even dare to look in Arachne's direction. _I think Willow will kill me if my head even shows the slightest inclination of turning._

I stared at the dragon wing. "This really is something special. Night Angel, your department didn't design this?"

He shook his head wildly, almost sending Arachne flying. "No, this looks to be more under your brother's area of expertise."

"Computer research, huh..." I sighed. "Time to go visit my older brother. Ugh..."

Willow seemed concerned. "Why? Is your brother a jerk?"

Arachne squealed. "Oh my gosh! I bet he's a tsundere."

System: Player Arachne has used a word that cannot be translated by the language detector.

"The hell? Tsundere. Tsuntsuntsun, derederedere, yanyanyan, derederedere-"

System: Player Arachne has used a phrase that cannot be translated by the language detector.

Arachne took a deep breath, and started to yell. "TSU-"

"SHUT UP!" Three voices yelled as one. _No matter how much you say it, the language detector clearly is not as much as an otaku as you are!_

* * *

After force-logging Arachne out, Willow logged out as well, but not without sending a suspicious look at me. _That's one devoted boyfriend. Maybe I should tell him I'm a girl? After all, it would make his load a lot easier, without having to watch me at every step..._

_Nah. Too fun to stop now~_

I hesitated as Night Angel and I walked towards the Adventurer's Guild, to take on yet another quest for boat money.

"Hey, Night Angel."

"Mmhmm?"

"Why were you crying earlier?"

He started to blush. "You look very similar to my sister. She died a couple of years back, and I miss her greatly. Even the way you speak is similar to my sister."

_I can't imagine life without Michael__..._ "I'm sorry for your loss." I hugged Night tightly. "You can be my older brother, then."

Night Angel shook his head fiercely. "Are you kidding me? Michael would kill me if I even breathed a word of this to him."

"My second older brother?" The suggestion seemed to soften Night's eyes.

"Thank you, younger sister. Oops, I should say 'younger brother' in-game, huh?"

"You...do you want to infuriate me to death?"

"Isn't that what older brothers do!?"

We bickered all the way to the Adventurer's guild, causing everyone within three miles to turn their heads in our direction.

* * *

After logging out, my mother was the first thing I saw.

"Holy sh-"

She gave me a stern look. "I hope you weren't about to say what I think it was."

"Ahahaha..." My laughter trailed off, and I rubbed my head sheepishly.

She cleared her throat. "Anyways, it's time for you to go to work. Hurry up."

So, I got dressed, stuffed a piece of bread in my mouth, and hopped on the bus.

It was actually a really beautiful day, so I hung out of the door, and let the breeze rush by. The ocean added just a slight bit of tang, and the sun was warm.

_Ah, it's so pretty outside today. Oh, wait a second, I missed my stop. Going to be late at this rate!_

I quickly hopped off again, and rushed to the kindergarten where I worked as a teacher's aide in the daytime.

"Hey! It's unni*!"

"Onee-chan**! Look what I found today!"

"Jie-jie***, can you pick me up?"

Soon, I was instantly surrounded by a group of kids, each with smiling faces and dirty hands.

"What am I going to do with you guys? I always told you, washing your hands is important! Now, go and wash up so we can eat snack!"

_Yay! Mom made the kids' snack, so I didn't have to do it. I'm good at cooking, but I hate it._

I opened the bag, and saw:

1) Saltine crackers

2) Water

3) Red Bull

4) Bread

There was also a note. It read, "I made the snack today for your drunk customers at the bar ^^"

_Mom's going senile, isn't she? I clearly told her yesterday that I was helping out the kids, and then I would be back for the bar's snacks._

I turned around with a big smile on my face. "So, kids. Who wants Red Bull?"

* * *

_Giving the Red Bull to the kids was not such a good idea. They bounced around the room continuously for around an hour before they crashed right before naptime. So, I had to haul them to their cots for naptime. Note to self: I should always make the snack myself. _

I leaned back, and put my feet up. This was the one time of day that I truly enjoyed.

Clarice, the little girl who had called me "unni" toddled up, her eyes shut and sleepy.

"Unni, can you tell me a story? I can't go to sleep." She yawned.

_You liar, you're practically asleep on your feet._ I took her up into my arms, and held her hair to my cheek.

"Of course. Once upon a time, there was a little princess who was really sad. Her daddy, the king, wanted to make her happy. He asked everyone in the kingdom to bring something to make her happy. The tailor brought his best shoes, but she wouldn't dance. The cook brought her a delicious meal, but the princess wouldn't eat."

Clarice petulantly exclaimed, "You should always eat food! It makes you prettier."

I laughed and continued the fairy tale. "The king even brought a handsome prince over, but she wouldn't kiss him. So, the king asked a beggar to do something. 'My daughter refuses to do anything. She's very sad. Can you help her?' The beggar took out his flute, and started to play a sweet melody that made the princess smile. She started to laugh and dance, so she was very happy. The king thanked the beggar, but the beggar man refused to take a reward, and off he went, playing the flute over the hills."

"Was the princess happy afterwards?"

"Of course. After all, fairy tales always end with a 'happily ever after'."

_Don't they?_

* * *

"Hoo..." I waved the last of the kids off. Sighing, I turned on the tablet that tracked employee sign-in.

_Keelan Jin-Williams_

I thumbed the tablet screen, and rushed home to prepare a second snack for the bar job.

When I returned, my mother held up a bag for me to see.

"You forgot this," she dead-panned.

I opened the bag, and it was filled with fruit snacks, juice, and animal crackers.

I sweated. _Looks like I'm the one going_ _senile._

"Okay, about that..."

After apologizing to my mom about fifty or sixty times, she left me alone. _Time to go check on Second Life!_ I plonked on the helmet and logged in.

The scenery was a beautiful night time scene filled with the scent of drifting cherry blossoms, and I laughed, spinning around in a circle. My wings started to lift me up higher and higher. _I get to travel to a new world every time I log in. I can't help but laugh and think how much this would normally cost in real life._

Willow yelled from behind me, "Gale! Come down!" I guiltily settled my wings down and rushed over to the meeting place.

Night Angel smiled at me, and I held his hand, like an actual younger brother would do. _Jeez, it rubbed off on me. Even I'm calling myself a younger brother now..._

Needless to say, Arachne squealed as she saw two hot guys (?) holding hands with each other. She kept muttering, "BL, BL, BL..."

Willow seemed relieved, almost like he was thanking God Almighty. "That's good, Gale was taken after all..."

_Hey, hey, hey...I'm not even a guy, how can I be gay?!_ Sadly, I could only keep these thoughts in my head, since I had already announced that I was a guy. I mean, they would definitely be mad at me now if I told them I was lying.

Night Angel explained, "We gathered enough money for all of us to board a ship. So, we were just waiting for you. Once we log off, our characters will automatically keep on going, so when we log back on, we should be at Star City, and then teleport to Sun City. The teleportation fees will cost quite a bit, so we should probably just earn money immediately in Star City once we arrive, even without the others. Got it?"

"Yup. So, who's going to go recruit the mage and archer?" Willow asked.

"Like I said, we'll probably find someone who needs a team, but doesn't have one." I shrugged my shoulders. "Let's focus on the teleportation fees. Even if we miss the tournment, let's settle in the Central Continent."

"Agreed." Arachne looked excited. _Probably at the thought of seeing the legendary Prince. I'm a little curious to see what he looks like, if he;s got Arachne this excited._

"Good." Night Angel didn't look all that happy, but, he probably got motion sick on boats.

"Then it's settled. We're off! Here, Nightingale-" Willow broke off mid-sentence and tossed a sack of coins to me. "That's the boat fee. Now, time to head off."

The NPC for boats shook his head when we approached him. "I'm sorry, the boats aren't running right now. There have been some problems concerning the ocean crossing."

"What should we do? If it comes down to this, we won't be able to see Prince." Arachne started to fret.

A loud voice shouted from behind. "Let me through! I need to see the Sailor NPC!"

We all turned simultaneously towards the loud voice that could be recognized, even in a storm. _Kaoru is here!_

* * *

A/N: I really don't feel like talking today. -_-

So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Drifter Ch. 06-Mother Bird

I did something a little special to this chapter. If you catch it, you get a virtual cookie!

Okay, I have no idea how the currency system in Half Prince works, so I made a guess.

Copper-5 of these are a bronze

Bronze-10 of these are a silver

Silver-50 of these are a gold

Gold-100 of these are a crystal

Crystal-highest form

Nope, don't own. I don't know why, but typing this is getting really irritating. For God's sake, this is a FanFiction site. You would think it'd be obvious by now... :(

* * *

"Ah! Kaoru, help us-"

She actually ignored me? What? Did someone drop a stone on her head?

She spoke sharply to the sailor NPC. "Excuse me, one ticket to the Central Continent please."

"Five thousand crystal coins please." He winked. "At least, that's what I normally would say, but for you I'll lower it."

Hey, hey, hey, no fair! She cut in line, and the sailor NPC is being nice to her as well, while he gave me the ice-filled treatment. Just what is going on here? And, ew, Kaoru's getting hit on by a computer program.

"Kaoru?" I tapped her shoulder, and she turned around to look at me.

"Um, hello...? Oh, it's you." Her face was drawn tightly together, and she seemed to be in a hurry.

Night Angel suddenly paled. "I designed you! I remember from somewhere..."

"Excuse me?" Kaoru looked extremely offended, and a little scared.

Oh no. God help us all, since I think this is what they call the "calm before the storm".

"I-I've definitely seen you somewhere! Definitely! Someone made a special request to design you, along with another, but I can't remember who."

The sailor NPC asked firmly, "Lady, are you boarding, or not? The moon needs to be in the right position in order to set sail."

"No, thank you." Kaoru opened a systems box, and turned to address us. "Excuse me, but as a GM, I need to fix the NPC."

System: NPC Destruct Activated

The sailor NPC exploded in a flash of white light as bright as the sun. Kaoru seemed more worried than before. "So it does work, after all."

"What the-Kaoru, what happened to the NPC?" I stepped up, a little worried. Destruct doesn't really sound like a good thing...

Night Angel seemed similarly worried. "Shouldn't this be a problem for the computer geeks who work at Second Life's Corporation?"

My brother is one of those geeks. You shouldn't be so quick to pass judgement on my older brother, especially when I'm right here.

Kaoru gave a patronizing look to the both of us. "Really, two kids who don't know anything should stay out of my way." A flash of metal showed as her hand gripped the sword at her side. Her hand was also gripping the sword tightly, and her muscles were strained.

Her personality seemed to change a lot. What's going on here?

Willow seemed to register the change as well, and exchanged a glance with me. Kaoru was friendly and loud before, and a bit obnoxious with a tongue of fire.

Now, she was violent, unfriendly, and really, really scary.

"Kaoru, calm down. We just need to talk-" She cut me off as her blade sang through the air I had been in five seconds before. Something's really wrong. I know it!

"You don't understand!" Kaoru yelled. "This need to be done for your sake, you stupid-" She cut herself abruptly off, and stood ramrod straight. Kaoru glared fiercely at us.

"Snap out of it!" I was angry as well. "Who are you calling stupid when you won't even explain?"

Kaoru aimed another blow at me, and I deflected it with my right hand. She pulled out and struck again and again. I was forced to parry each blow with my right hand, and my left hand was unable to strike Kaoru. After all, how could I? She was my friend.

* * *

Kaoru yelled, "OF COURSE YOU SHOULD! DID YOU NOT JUST CLEARLY HEAR ME SAY THAT THE CHANCES OF GETTING A SECRET CLASS IS EXTREMELY RARE?"

She flew into a rampage. "I-it's just your imagination!"

Kaoru fended off the feathers with her sword. Looking at me, she yelled. "Get your lazy butt off the ground and help!

Uh...Why are all my memories of Kaoru yelling at me? Sigh...It was supposed to be a montage of all of our fond memories together.

Finding strength I didn't know I had, I caught her blade with my right scimitar's hook, and flipped it down onto the earth. Using my stronger left hand, I smashed Black Swan through the blade, turning it into nothing.

I pointed Black Swan at Kaoru's neck. Of course, I wasn't really going to cut her, but it was a bluff. "How could I not understand when you refuse to explain what the hell you mean?" My voice was cold and quiet, like a cloud drifting through the sky.

Her eyes widened. "Nightingale, I didn't mean to-"

"Mean to what? Yell? Call me stupid? Attack me out of nowhere?" I lowered my blade, my hand trembling as I did so. "Kaoru, who are you?"

She shook her head, perplexed. "N-no, I mean that I couldn't control myself right there. I don't know what happened..."

Kaoru started to cry like a little girl, bringing her hands up to her eyes. I hugged her tightly. "Come on, let's go. Too many people are watching." I glared at the crowd that had formed around us, and led her to a nearby restaurant.

Some whispers drifted over to me as I moved through the sea of people. My team mates made as if they were to follow me, but I waved them off.

"Go buy ship tickets" I mouthed.

"Isn't that Kaoru the GM? She's supposed to have special powers, isn't she?"

"Oh my god, who's that hot guy who defeated Kaoru? Kaoru is freaking strong. I heard that she can take down a dragon by herself..."

"Wait, isn't that hot guy a girl? I'm so confused..."

* * *

Kaoru stared miserably at her cup of lavender leaf tea. "I don't know what happened. I just don't."

I sighed. "You should just log off for today, Kaoru. Go drink some tea in real life. It'll help."

Tears started dripping into her teacup. "Nightingale." Kaoru's voice echoed over the PM channel, sounding more lonely than I had ever heard it before. "I can't log off."

"Is Second Life's corporation that strict?" Wow. I really don't want to work there, if they even refuse to let their employees log off before working hours end.

"No." She cracked a small smile. "I...am a self-aware NPC."

What? "Kaoru..."

"Yes?"

"You mean, you're just a...program? You don't really exist?" So one of my friends is a nonhuman who only lives in a game...Man, this sucks.

She met my eyes. "I have reason not to think so. I think I was human, but I was shut into this body. I'm stuck, and I can't get out."

"So, why do you think you started going all funky on me earlier?"

"The Dict-I mean, my supervisor, I guess you would call him, predicted that my true personality would try and break through. My true personality is apparently a violent, arrogant person who likes to attack people."

"Do you mean to say that this isn't your real personality?"

"Yes. I don't even remember anything from before Second Life. You can truly say that Second Life is my only life. If Second Life gets shut down, I will disappear too." She glanced up towards the sky. "But..." She refocused on me. "I will definitely find a way to get back into the real world, no matter what happens. I have to."

I held her hand. "Then I will help you. You mentioned a supervisor earlier, did you not? I'll do everything I can to make sure you get into the real world."

"No. You can't help me, Nightingale. You are my friend, but also I don't want to burden you. I'm afraid..." She drifted off, looking unsure of herself.

"Afraid of what?"

"You'll stop being my friend. No, you can't help me. Just go to the Central Continent, and fight Prince. Meet he-him, and help him out. This is my request. Please, Nightingale?"

"Fine. You have to promise me that you'll come and see me once I do. Promise."

She held up her pinky finger. "I swear on my pinky."

I had to smile at that.

* * *

Kaoru headed off for God-knew-where, and I met up again with my teammates. They had just purchased four tickets, and were anxiously waiting for me.

Arachne asked, "What hap-" but got cut off by Willow, who had seen the look on my face.

"If you don't want to tell us, you don't have to tell us." His tone was extremely gentle and understanding.

"Thank you." I sent him a look of gratitude, and he actually blushed and turned away.

Night Angel handed me a ticket, and we walked up to the ship.

"By the way, how did you buy these tickets?"

Night Angel scratched his head. "We bought these from the Sailor NPC. He was replaced immediately right after you left with Kaoru. The man who installed him was-"

Arachne broke in. "Extremely hot! He had red hair and this magic tattoo that looked like the boss Night Angel's, and he had demon wings! He was soooo dreamy!"

"I was actually going to say 'really odd' because I didn't know demon wings were allowed." Night Angel sighed. "Ah, whatever."

We boarded the ship, and headed towards our respective bunks.

"I only rented two rooms on board. Arachne obviously can't sleep with the us, so I guess it's you, me, and Night Angel." Willow nonchalantly dropped the bomb.

Ack! I'm a girl too, I can't sleep in the same room as two guys! I'm not even married!

Night Angel shot me a worried look.

"You mean you weren't around to make sure he got a separate room for me too?" I PMed him quickly.

"I'm sorry! But this is just a game, so I thought it wouldn't matter..."

I sighed and waved my hand. "Eh, whatever. I'll log off outside. Let's meet again in three days." We hugged for a short time, and I opened the system menu.

I logged off quickly and woke to the sight of my mom, looming over me again.

"Can you stop doing that?" I asked, still lying down. "You're seriously going to scare me one day."

However, my mom was nervous, and kept trembling.

"I-It's your dad, Keelan. He's h-here."

* * *

"Yeah, my dad lives with us." Most people would be able to say that without lying.

My dad just happened to be missing for the last eight years, and randomly shows up. Yeah. Thanks so much, Dad.

He was sitting calmly, sipping tea. Since I can't speak Chinese all that well, I popped a translator in my ear.

"So." I managed to speak calmly, albeit with hands trembling from anger. "How have you been, Dad?"

He set down the teacup and stared at me calmly. "Keelan, my daughter, you've grown a lot, haven't you?"

I laughed sardonically. "Yeah, there's apparently quite a height change between a twelve year old and a twenty year old. Quite surprising."

If he heard the sarcasm in my tone, he didn't let on. "In any case," he continued, "I've come here to make you an offer. Will you come to Beijing?"

My surprise kept me from making a nasty retort. "What?"

"I said, will you come-"

"No, no, I caught that part. Expand."

He sighed. "No respect for your elders at all. Anyways, I want you and your mother to come to Beijing. You especially, since I hear you are very good with artistic designs?"

"What do you need my drawing skills for?"

"To design something for a game I'm helping to manage."

"Why are you asking me to come for a game? I would think that there are more important things in my life than a game." I scoffed, incredulous that he would ask me to uproot my life for a game.

He sighed. "Keelan. The game I'm referring to is Second Life. I would like you to work in the graphics designing department."

Night Angel works there... "Not interested. Besides, Michael already works in Second Life's corporation."

Jin Lie Ming stood up, and put his coat on. "Then, Keelan, consider my offer. I'll be back in a week to hear your reply."

The hell is wrong with my old man? Is he hard of hearing? "Did you not hear me? Is your advanced age preventing the good use of your ears? I'm. Not. Going." I practically spat the last three words in his direction.

"Why not?"

I was taken aback. "Why would I uproot my life to go scurry places whenever you tell me to? I have something I want to keep here."

He snorted, looking more than a little pissed off. "By not going to university? By working at a gay bar? By working at a kindergarten? What's so important here that you wouldn't want to move somewhere a lot better? This house surely isn't worth it, and neither is your mother."

"You're so stupid, aren't you?" My mood went from surly to extremely angry. "Oh, since my disobedient daughter refuses to uproot her life and follow me like an dog, I think I'll insult her mother. Yeah, so stupid. It wasn't her fault you got drunk and refused to face the consequences. Instead, you ran off, leaving her to deal with two kids. By herself."

My mother couldn't help herself. "Keelan, you shouldn't-"

"I shouldn't what? Tell him the truth he needed to hear? He took Michael. Would you let him take me too?" I was beside myself with hysteria.

I pointed a finger at his face. "You...are not my father. You are a random stranger who took my older brother. Get out!"

He smiled ruefully, but there was more than a little bit of anger in his eyes. "Looks like you inherited more of me than my face." He slammed the door when he exited, leaving me still shaking with the after-effect of serious anger.

* * *

A/N: Well, this was...an emotional chapter. I wanted to show that Keelan (yes, that's her name) wasn't someone who was just randomly there without a history behind her. I'm a little tired of this chapter because it took so darn long to write. Also, the darn lines won't go in the right place. *headache*

Thank you, guest. I put twin o.o instead of older brother.

Check the tumblr address on my profile. I created a picture of Nightingale, and the two mystery members of the party. Ignore the post before that, I was raging on my brother.

Please R&R!


	7. Chapter 7

Drifter Ch. 07-Migration

Nope, Half Prince isn't mine.

* * *

"The mother firetrucking son of a bathtub!" Of course, that really what I said, but the gory details...Er, I'll leave that up to your imagination. What followed was about thirty pages' worth of unprintable words. I went on raging for a full fifteen minutes after the door stayed shut behind the son of a bathtub. And since I had never met any of my grandparents, I was fine with insulting them.

My mother, however, couldn't stand the cussing anymore. "Hey! Calm down! Do you want me to wash out your mouth with soap?!" She hit my head fiercely with her hand.

"Ow...I'm fine now." After rubbing my head, I glared at my mom. "You let him walk all over you. He deserves it. If that wasn't bad enough, now he wants me to move to China too. And I can't even speak Chinese^ all that well."

"Sweetie, this is his way of apologizing for what he did eight years ago. Why can't you just accept his offer?"

"And leave you here, by yourself? Plus, eight years is a little overdue for an apology." I shook my head and scowled. "If he wants me to go to Beijing, he's going to have to drag me there, after what he did to Michael."

* * *

"Keelan, this is your daddy. Say hi." My mother's voice had been shaking nervously with...anger? Nervousness?

I didn't understand, really. All I knew about dads is that I never had one, since mom never wanted to talk about it. So, when a handsome stranger showed up on our doorstep with a bouquet of flowers, I never accepted him as my dad emotionally. He was undeniably my biological father, since I obviously inherited his face. However, it was sort of nice to have this "dad" around for a couple of days or so.

Back then, Michael had already been showing that he was a whiz with computers. After all, I always asked him to hack my computer games in order to get a high score...Never mind. You didn't hear that. Anyways, both Michael and I were showing signs of extraordinary gifts, and both of us were hopeful that this father-thing would work out.

Oh, he was the epitome of fatherly love. Always taking _Michael_ out to eat, or _Michael_ out to play games. I always cried, since I was like an afterthought. I won't deny it; I was so jealous that Michael got to spend time with our father. My mother wasn't of much help either. It's not surprising then, that I turned out like my currently weird...Ahem, _charmingly quirky_ personality. I could tell that even those trivial events that seemed small took Michael further and further away from us, and closer and closer to him.

Until the day he had Michael pack his things up and my _dad_ (I say the word with absolutely no sarcasm. Sure.) put his arm around Michael's shoulders.

"Michael and I have talked this over, and he says he wants to come to China with me. So, Michael, say good-bye." Michael had looked down the entire time, avoiding our eyes. I stood completely still with the shock that my loving older brother would betray us for _him_. My rage started to boil up. My mom had already started to cry and scream. She had a mental breakdown, in other words.

"You took off eight years ago. You left me with two children. How _dare_ you come and say now that you'll take one of them away?! You filthy, dirty, manipulative-"

She raised her hand as if to hit my _dad_, but I stopped her. Even then, I could feel this fierce anger and sorrow emanating from her.

"Mommy, don't hit him. He's not worth touching." As I comforted my unstable, sobbing mother, I had shot a look at my _dad_. I hope he got the message, since my eyes were practically radiating hatred and disgust. "He's not anybody at all."

_Looking back, I really feel that...I need a therapist. This isn't normal stuff any kid deals with._

Ever since then, Michael went to Beijing to receive training, while I stayed with my mom throughout elementary, middle, and high school. I even forsook going to college, since I was afraid she might fall apart had I gone to a far-away college, and the ones near our house were way too expensive for us.

Do I sound bitter? I am. Michael had these way more obvious talents, but I was talented in my own way as well. I suppose graphic designing and sarcastic humor weren't as awesome as designing a game.

* * *

I sighed. _Reliving the past is exhausting_. I changed quickly into my pajamas (Don't judge, they're blue with teddy bears. What? They were adorable.) and slipped into bed.

Real life somehow seemed way more unrealistic than Second Life. One unstable mother, one hell of an annoying father, one brother in China, one adoptive brother in China...Even soap operas weren't this bad. I mean, seriously. I have no love-interests whatsoever. Come on, even the most shallow heroines have boyfriends or crushes at the very least! _Sigh...Sigh...Sigh...Future husband, you seriously can show up around now._

I put on the gaming helmet and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

_So, this is Star City?_ It certainly was beautiful, with the European style of architecture. "Now, where in the world has everyone else gone?" I looked around helplessly, uncomfortably aware with the amount of attention my looks were gathering from the crowd. Thank God, no one tried to molest me yet, since no one could figure out my gender. _Ha! All the guys aren't sure if they're gay or not, and all the girls don't want to rush up and hug another girl__. Hehe~I feel like messing around with them~_

"Could anyone tell me where the Adventurer's Guild is? It's my first time on the Central Continent, and I'm a little lost." I smiled helplessly, and laughed like a devil inside. _Hee hee, this is really fun__. _

I promise you that the next moment, my face paled and my blood pressure skyrocketed. I could feel a rush of energy as adrenalin was pumped into my body in order to escape the coming death before me...

_H-holy mother of-The hell are they chasing after me for like they're rabid dogs?!_

I jumped up onto a crate and used the momentum to propel me to a shop awning, which propelled me to a low roof. I kept jumping until I was clear out of the tangle of awnings and clotheslines. _Free! Free! I can fly now!_

System: Player Nightingale has learned a new skill, Jumpstart.

I looked around, confident that I would be able to find my teammates once high in the air, but I saw no one that even looked a tad suspicious. Opening the team channel, I called out, "Hey, where did you guys go?" They were all online...

"Gale! Oh my GOD, thank GOD, THANK GOD. We can leave now!" Willow's emotional reply left me with the impression that something horrible had happened.

"What happened to make you guys sound like this?" I was seriously worried.

"For some reason, each of us logged in at a different time. It was Arachne, me, Willow, and then you, Gale." Night Angel's voice sounded on the verge of tears.

"Did you see what happened when you appeared? That mob of slobbering dogs and wolves, and the crowd of complete perverts. They kept on chasing after me...*Sob*..." Arachne had actually started crying.

"Those females are unstoppable. No matter how many I cut down, ten more would rise to take a fallen girl's place. Ugh, such a horrifying experience..." Night Angel was completely perturbed by the event.

"I agree with you." Willow sounded like he would be nodding. "And yet.. Wouldn't it be the worst for Gale?"

"Oh! That's right! Gale, you okay?"

I laughed humorlessly. "In the beginning, they didn't want to approach me, but I asked for directions and then they jumped on me...So I flew away to escape." _I'll just leave out the part about me provoking the crowd..._

"Anyhoo, we're staying with a kind girl. She was actually quite helpful to me, and even helped out Night Angel and Willow when they logged in. She's quite nice."

"Of course, she also happens to be an archer. Her name is Kkoom." _Night Angel, did you cough or something?_

"Eh?"

"Oh, oops. Translated from Korean, it means Dream. She's actually quite a fantastic archer."

"Okay. Tell me where her house is. I'll be there in five minutes, tops."

* * *

I stared at our potential new recruit soundlessly. She wore a pretty yellow dress embroidered with beautiful designs and gems, and a short jacket on top of it that was bright red*. Her braid reached down to the floor and she had a longbow in her hand. It was obvious that she was a girl, and it was obvious that she was an archer, but...

_Her eyes are completely covered by her bangs. Can she even see me? On the other hand, can she even see her targets._

She crossed the room to my exact location, and revealed her hand for me to shake. "Hi, my name is Dream, level 37 archer. Nice to meet you!"

_So, she can see my location, but nothing else. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure she would have attacked all three "males" in this room by now._

"Nice to meet you, my name is Nightingale." I shook her hand politely and withdrew as fast as possible, just in case she was trying to pull one on us.

"Anyways, I was thinking of participating in the Adventurer's Tournament, but couldn't find a team that wanted me." Dream sighed.

"Why would they reject you?" I was curious.

Dream's voice became pouty. "They brushed me off with some nonsense about me not being pretty enough or revealing enough. I should have known most guys were pervs. Anyways, now that I know for sure this is an all-girls' team, may I join you?"

Arachne and I started to laugh while Night Angel and Willow spewed tea. "Ahahaha..She thinks you guys are girls...AHAHAHA..." Arachne laughed hysterically.

"My God, seriously?" I was chortling.

"W-wait a second...Then who the hell is a girl and who the hell is a boy?" Dream started panicking.

Willow raised his hand lazily from the couch he was sitting on. "Boy."

Night Angel crossed his legs and sipped his tea properly. "Boy."

Arachne patted Dream on the back. "Girl."

I smirked. "Eh, not telling."

"Ugh...Boys..." Dream's face (or at least, what I could see of it) turned pale.

"If you hate boys that much, then why would you even..?" Night Angel sighed and shook his head.

I took Dream's hand gently. "Hey, we all look like girls in this team. If you want to get over your fear, you need to start now. The boys in this team are pretty much all wimps, anyways. It'll even feel like an all-girls team!"

Both Night Angel and Willow opened their mouth to protest, but Arachne shushed them with a single withering look.

"I'll only accept on one condition. Nightingale, what gender are you?"

"Uh...boy?"

"You don't sound too sure of yourself." Dream giggled. _I'm not, believe me._

"Let's welcome Dream into Blue Moon!" We whooped and hollered. I sighed. _I guess I need to do what needs to be done..._

I pumped my fist into the air. "Drinks are on me!" Viola, who was still sitting unnoticed on my shoulder meowed happily. "Yeah, yeah, I'll buy you milk again," I sighed.

Night Angel got so happy, he lifted me up in his arms and twirled me around the room. "Yes! I was running close to empty in my purse again..."

* * *

I supported Willow on our walk to the Adventurer's Guild. "Hey, sleepy head, wake up!" I scolded.

"Mm...Would it kill you to let me sleep for a little longer?" Willow's head fell onto my left shoulder, while Viola was on my right shoulder.

Arachne and Dream supported a totally drunk Night Angel between them. _It turns out Dream actually has the highest liquor tolerance of us all, despite her looking like she came out of a period drama._ They were chatting about how nice Second Life was. Looking at the bright moon above us, I laughed out loud, and Viola purred contently.

I turned to look at my teammates, my eyes shining. "Wouldn't it be nice to have this scene just last forever?" I twirled around, forgetting that Willow's head was on my shoulder.

His head hit the ground, and Willow got up, grumbling. "Stupid Gale, I got the point, but you didn't have to dump me on the ground."

I jumped off several nearby trees and leaped into the air, unfurling my wings.

System: Jumpstart successfully executed.

I was startled to feel Viola's claws digging into my shoulder. I looked back and she was there, hooking her claws into my clothes in a desperate attempt to cling onto my body. "Eh? Oh, sorry, Viola."

_Come to think of it, what is Jumpstart? And I'd like to take a look at my other skills as well._

I opened the skills window and saw a surprising number of skills.

Silver Claw, level 5. Enables the attacker to render an opponent's armor useless. Uses up 150 mana, can destroy up to level B equipment.

Storm Bird, level 7. Summons the spirits of lightning and thunder to lower opponent's strength and agility. Uses up to 90 mana per opponent.

Clear Song, level 3. Calls upon the birds' songs to heal an ally of debuffs. Uses up 200 mana, cannot be used again for ten minutes.**

Dragon Dance, level 8. Uses a flurry of quick, powerful attacks. Uses up 200 mana, can attack up to 5 times, has a chance of 20% to stun for 30 seconds.

Gray Fire, level 1. Burns any nearby opponents. Uses 600 mana, attacks up to 6 players, unable to distinguish between friend or foe. Will automatically reduce user's health points to 1.

Camoflauge, level 6. Allows the user to hide. This skill requires a _Black Dragon Wing_.

Jumpstart, level 2. Adds 10% more speed when flying if user has used a jump to start flying.

My skills weren't all that bad, but they all had really cheesy names. Plus, when in the world did I learn Gray Fire? Using up 600 mana was a pretty big amount, it would attack anyone in my vicinity, and it would reduce my own health to 1. Wasn't Gray Fire was basically a suicide attack then?

_I'm never, never, never using that one unless I'm the last one left in my team._

I shivered, since the skill itself sounded so ominous.

"We're almost there, Gale. Pull yourself together!" Willow knocked me playfully on the head. "Let's go find our last teammate."

_Why are you so enthusiastic? I wonder which weirdo we're going to end up with this time._

* * *

^I am using "Chinese" instead of Mandarin or Cantonese, since I don't really know which dialect they use in Beijing...Or even if they have dialects in 21XX A.D.

*This dress style is a _hanbok_, or Korean traditional dress for women.

**Maplestory skills...Because there's a _cooldown_ period where you can't use the same skill again. :3 Practically all of my gamer knowledge comes from Maplestory...Luminous FTW~

A/N: Yay! It's out! Anyways, besides that, I'm currently unable to find an artist for this story, so better get used to Hatsune Miku.


	8. Chapter 8

Drifter Ch. 08-Blizzard

A/N: I don't know if I ever said this, but each review is a huge motivation to me. Many make me smile, and encourage me to get off my butt and start writing again. So, in short, thank you!

Lesson for the day kids-Always save your documents, espcially if you just finished the entire freaking chapter and your computer gets shut down. -_-

I don't own Half Prince, or the English translations.

Sun Knight Cameo x4?~

Now, onto Nightingale's pathetic life *author gets whacked by a shoe*.

* * *

The Blue Moon team, minus one, huddled in a circle just outside of the Adventurer's Guild's entrance. They looked very serious, and I assure you that the aura surrounding them was very dark. However-

"I want to name our team something else. Blue Moon is probably taken!" Dream sounded pretty worried.

"Yeah. Awesome Bishie-" Arachne didn't even get a chance to finish her suggestion since Dream covered her mouth. So, we didn't even get a chance to tell her to go to hell.

"Dream makes a good point." Willow was furrowing his eyebrows. "But, I like Blue Moon a lot..."

The team looked up at me, who was resting in a tree. "What do you suggest?"

"Whatever. Don't really care about the name. Just pick one already!"

"...So nonchalant about the whole thing. Would you hurry up and get down here already?"

I sighed, unhappy at leaving the tree. "Fine." I leaped out of the tree, executed a double somersault, one twist, and landed with my right knee touching the ground and arms extended.

*Clap, clap, clap* "Five stars!" My nice older brother, Night Angel immediately gave me full points. _I swear, you are the best sibling someone could ever have_.

"Three stars. The landing was really wobbly." As a critical, all-out fangirl, Arachne instantly caught the one mistake.

"Four stars. Your fight with the boss Night Angel was a lot flashier." Willow decided to be a mediator.

"Um...Don't know, couldn't see that well..." Dream was hesitant in her answer.

"Anyhoo, let's focus on finding a mage first, since I think finding one should be a priority." I yawned. "Thing is, I don't want to go in there, since it's too noisy, and I think it'd get even noisier if we stepped inside." I stared at our team.

Willow: Looked very delicate and fragile, like a lily or some other weird crap like that. Girls would probably treat him like an adorable little brother. And guys...would probably say something along the lines of "If a guy's this cute, he's fair game."

Arachne: Actually fairly elegant and refined. Gave off the aura of someone who was used to living in a decadent lifestyle. Guys would instantly hone in on her.

Night Angel: Became somewhat more manly, so more easily recognizable as a pretty boy. Probably had his appearance altered a little so that he wouldn't be treated as a female. Girls would probably pounce on him.

Dream: Tall, lithe, and her movements gave off the impression that she was quiet and shy, like one of those stereotypical heroines in manga.

And let's not even get started on me, the last member of the team.

We all stared at Dream. "Dream..."

She raised her hands sheepishly in the air. "Okay, I guess I'll go recruit a mage. But, by myself is a little mean. Nightingale, come with me?"

"Okay, but you have to be my shield just in case someone goes after me."

"Ugh, fine..."

* * *

Luckily, Night Angel remembered at the last minute that he had a cloak. I put it on, and everyone agreed that they couldn't see my face. _Is it just me, or does Arachne sound a little disappointed?_

We entered the Adventurer's Guild without any trouble. Dream held up a sign that said, "Recruiting-A level 35-40 mage specializing in AOE attacks. Looking to compete in Adventurer's Tournament."

I bought some red-bean bun shaped like a fish* and sat down behind Dream to wait.

A young girl approached us. "Um, hi...Can I join? My name is Sunny Night, level 40 and I need a team..." She had a pleasant, open expression. Her face really wasn't that bad looking, but...

"I'm sorry. You don't seem to be what we're looking for. Sorry." I shook my head, and the girl's face fell. She regained her spirits and went on her way.

"What kind of person are you looking for?" Dream turned in my direction.

"I'm looking for a pretty boy, since Arachne's fangirling is too much for just three guys to put up with . If we successfully recruit another boy, then the fangirling won't be as concentrated and will be at a bearable level."

"...I'm sorry I asked." Dream sighed, and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. I saw a brief flash of steely gray eyes.

"Eh? Isn't it Mi Young?" A young high school age boy popped out of nowhere. He wore mage clothes, but with more style than most mages. His medium-length, blue green hair was tied up in a high pony tail. _He's so...freaking adorable! Oh my God, I totally want to hug him...But if I do that now, I'm probably going to get mistaken as a gay._

"M-Min-Ki?!" Dream stammered, and what I could see of her cheeks turned bright red.

"It is Mi-Young! Wow, it's been a while. Who's your friend?" He smiled brightly.

I extended my hand, since Dream looked too petrified to answer. "Nightingale."

Min-Ki laughed guiltily. "I forgot, in-game name. Okay, my name is Ice Storm, level 39, and I'm a frost type mage. Nice to meet you!"

"It was n-nice to see you, Min-Ki, but I need to go somewhere with my boyfriend. So, bye!" Dream gripped my hand tightly.

"Oh, okay...Hey, where are you going?!" By this time, Dream had already dragged me away at the speed of light.

* * *

"What the hell was that about?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry! I'll buy you another box of danppatbbang*." Dream was apologizing, and bowed to me several times.

"No, I don't care about the bread! Why in the world did you call me your boyfriend?! Moreover, I'm a college-age, I'll look like a total pervert dating a high school girl!" I sighed angrily. "Who in the world is he, that you would do that?"

"He's Min-Ki, a famous guy at our school. His real life appearance is really different from that, and I was shocked." She added under her breath, "I like him."

Unfortunately for her, I had excellent selective hearing. In other words, if I want to hear something, I'll hear it. "Ooh, you like him? How cute! You high school kids are so adorable."

She glared at me. "I was just shocked, and you were standing right there and everything, so I used you as an excuse. It's lucky you had your hood on, otherwise Min-Ki would have thought I liked girls."

"Psh, that's the least of my problems. My problem is that you may have chased away a perfectly good candidate for our team-"

"I'm not going to let Arachne drool all over him!"

"...Can I finish? He's in high school, so Arachne won't bother him in that sense, but she'll probably just treat him like an adorable younger brother."

"Oh. Never mind, then."

"With that settled, let's get back to Star City. I'm going to PM Ice Storm and ask him to meet us back at the Adventurer's Guild."

"Okay, but how are we going to get there-"

She was interrupted by my wings sprouting, and me picking her up. "Gale."

"Yes? I'm a little busy flying."

"Warn me next time before you do that, so I can put on some leggings."

"That's right, you're wearing a dress. Just put it on now."

"I can't! You're right here."

"Don't worry, I'm not peeking."

"You're a guy, of course I can't change with you being right here."

I mumbled, "I'm a girl, of course you can change with me being right here."

* * *

In the end, I dropped Dream off near our team and flew back to the Adventurer's Guild. Unfortunately, the robe had fallen off when Dream dragged me away. I ended up hiding in a cabinet. When the fangirls' screaming had stopped ringing in my head, I looked next to me to see Ice Storm already in the cabinet.

"It's another nuna**! Wah, why is my luck so bad today?" He scrambled madly, and I grabbed his collar.

"Calm down, I'm Nightingale." Ice Storm stopped trying to escape, and peered at my face.

"The voice sounds pretty similar, but I didn't know Nightingale was a girl...Mi-Young likes girls?"

"No, stupid. I'm college-age, so I wouldn't date a high-school kid if my life depended on it. Number two, I'm a guy." _I've gotten so used to saying this that I can lie without blinking an eye._

"Oh, you're just super girly."

"No comment. Anyways, the real reason I tracked you down is that I wanted to invite you to join our team."

"You mean Mi-Young's team? Sorry, Dream's team?"

"Yeah. My teammates should be sneaking around to the back of the Adventurer's Guild. I'll be leaving to meet them soon, and whether you come with me or not depends on what you decide. I understand it's a hard decision, but-"

"I'm in." _Wait, whaaat?_

"Try and think about it for a little longer, Ice Storm-"

"I said, I'm in."

I sat back on my heels, dumbfounded. "You're not going to spend more time thinking about it?"

Ice Storm grinned. "Why should I? Dream's in the team, you don't seem like a bad person...I'm in! I need to take care of Dream, after all."

* * *

_I'm not even going to mention the chaos we caused in the Adventurer's Guild. In the end, Arachne used Night Angel the boss to distract everyone, we registered our team, and fled out quickly. There was a time when things got particularly dicey, however._

"I'm telling you, Blue Moon is probably taken!" Dream was still at it.

"What else can we do? I refuse to be known as Willow of the Hot Bishie Group."

"Let's just try it." I turned to the NPC. "Is Blue Moon taken?"

"Mmm..."

"Looks like it's taken...Hey! The NPC's sleeping!" It was true. We woke up the registering NPC after a while, even though we were nervously glancing at the door to the registering room the entire time. He apologized, and told us, no, Blue Moon wasn't taken. We registered our team and escaped shortly afterwards.

_Yes!_ I spun around in the night again, and laughed happily. "We're an actual team now!" Willow was carrying a sleepy Arachne on his back, while Night Angel, Dream, and Ice Storm were hitting it off really well.

Everyone looked up, and smiled. This was really, really heartwarming for some reason. I could already feel my wings starting to unfurl.

System: Player Nightingale is receiving severe outside interference. Requesting player confirmation to log off.

_What could it be? Don't tell me something weird is going on again?_ _If "Dad" came back, I swear I'm going to kick his sorry backside to China_.

I waved goodbye to Blue Moon. "I'll be back as soon as I can. It's probably just something small."

* * *

I took off the gaming helmet, and my mother's wailing filled the house. _Oh my God, what happened?_ I ran to her bedroom, and there she was, crying hysterically.

"Mom? What happen-"

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! My darling Michael..." She turned to face me, and her eyes were filled with absolute hatred. I'd never seen her like this before...

"Mom..?"

Mom turned around again to face the wall, where a picture of my "dad" and Michael was hung. It was the day right after Michael was born. "Keelan." Mom's voice was completely calm.

"When I got pregnant with Michael, it was completely on accident. I never regretted it, and your father didn't either. I agreed to raise Michael, and your father would visit as much as he could. Michael grew, and when I got you, I was ecstatic. Your father was too, and hoped for another boy. We decided to get married, and I would move to China to live with him. It was so hopeful, so...happy."

"Then you were born, and you were clearly a beautiful, beautiful girl. I loved you from the moment I set my eyes on you. Your father did not. Girls were considered bad luck, and you showed signs of being left handed, and you were a second child. He gave you so many faults that even I started to believe him."

"He left, disgusted. I had to raise you kids by myself. He only visited twice in the past...what is it? Twenty years? And it's all because of you." Mom tilted her head back. "You know what I realized when he visited? He has no respect for me at all, because of _you_. You ruined my life. You ruined my only love. You ruin everything! If you leave, maybe Lie Ming will come back..."

I stifled my emotions, keeping them in check. I couldn't collapse... "Okay, then I'll leave."

"Go away. Don't come back, you disgusting, stupid child. I hate you." As I closed the door, her final words pierced straight through my heart. _She...hates...me?_

* * *

After picking up my backpack, I started to laugh and cry once I tore out of the house. In the pouring rain, I shouted, "Maybe it would have been better if I was never born!" I wandered all the way to the teleportation station.

The clerk looked up at me, startled. "Uh, hello." I must have been a sight, dripping wet and completely silent.

I looked him calmly in the eye. "I'd like to go to Beijing, please."

"I'm sorry sir, but it requires a passport, state identification, and six thousand dollars for such a long t-t-trip..." His voice trailed off as I stuck a bundle of papers in his face.

"This is my American Express Black card. I have my passport here, driver's license here. May I go?"

He nodded shakily, and I walked into the waiting room. I placed my head in my hands and began to sob.

_What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?! My mother hates me, my dad didn't want me from birth...Even Michael abandoned me for dad. And all of this from the stupid fact I was born a girl._ I raised my eyes skyward. "This must be Heaven's version of a joke. I don't even look like a girl, and yet I was rejected because I am one? What kind of God is there that leaves me to suffer like this?!"

I shouldered my backpack again and took several steadying breaths. _I won't cry over this anymore. I just need to get stronger. No one will ever do this to me again._

* * *

A/N: Why am I making this yet another emotional chapter? T.T

*This may be more commonly known as _taiyaki_ for those of you who know anime well. Danppatbbang, literally translated from Korean, means sweet (dan) bean (ppat) bread (bbang).

**Nuna is Korean used by males to describe females that are slightly older. It literally means older sister.

If you didn't figure it out, yeah, I have a lot of Korean friends.

I just realized that Ice and Storm are my two favorite characters from Legend of Sun Knight. Totally on accident, I swear! (Ice Storm:...Sure.)

Anyhoo, from here on out, it'll start slowly merging with Half Prince's main characters. Look forward to it :3

I've been looking at the word count, and I realized that it started going from 2500 to 2600 to 2700...My God, why am I doing this to myself?


	9. Chapter 9

Drifter Ch. 09-Long Fall

A/N: So, if you only found this chapter, read 08 first. I posted 2 chapters on the same day.

Also, found out Feng Lan's name means "Wind Orchid", I think. How freaking awesome is that?

*Mandarin for What's your name? Can I help you?

Don't own Half Prince. Never will. Do I really have to write this every chapter? It's starting to bother me.

* * *

China was...amazing. I wandered around with my hood firmly covering my face. _Oh my God, there's a freaking hover bike. I must really be from a backwater place, huh? _Everything looked so pretty and modern. There was only one small problem...

"Ni jiao shenme mingze? You shenme xuyao wo bang nide?*" A nice, really beautiful auntie with a lab coat on asked me a question.

_I don't speak Chinese, and I forgot my translator at home!_ I smiled awkwardly, and gestured at my mouth. "Sorry, I don't speak Chinese."

The nice auntie blinked, and switched to English. "Oh, a tourist. Are you okay?"

I sighed. "I'm a little lost. Could you point me to Second Life's corporation building?"

The auntie pulled out a holographic map. "Okay, go to the teleportation station, and then ask to be teleported to 368 XXY Street. Turn left at the first street light, go straight for three blocks, and turn right. It's really big, so you shouldn't miss it."

I laughed. "I just teleported here. Oh, well. Thank you!" I lifted my head to thank the auntie properly, and she was gone.

_Okay, so the teleportation station...Uh, where is it? I was just there..._ I lifted my eyes to the heavens. "Dear God in heaven, why did you curse me with such a bad sense of direction?"

* * *

In the end, I found the teleportation station, and teleported to 863 XXX street, turned right at the first street light, went straight for two blocks, turned left, and found myself at XXX University. _You're kidding me. I thought I followed her directions exactly!_

I lifted my eyes to the building. Maybe I should sign up for a memory class..? Then again, I would probably forget to show up. I should take a Chinese class, so that I won't need to depend on random strangers in the street.

I entered the main building, and the clerk behind the desk looked up. _Looks vaguely familiar__. _I smiled politely. "I'd like to register for a class."

"...Shenme?"

_Oh my afafahjksaf__. How in the world am I supposed to register?_

She saw the befuddled look on my face. "Yi An Liu!" She called to the back, and then resumed staring at my face. _The more I stare, the more I think I know her..._

A good looking boy stepped out, and the minute my eyes landed on his face, I knew who he was. _Willow! So the girl must be Arachne!_ The real life Willow was tall, strong, and had a somewhat graceful demeanor about him. He wasn't a pretty boy, but the type that girls wanted as a dependable, strong husband.

He exchanged a flurry of words with the girl, shook his head, and sighed. He turned to me. _Didn't think he was this good looking in real life..._

"Hi, my name is Yi An Liu. Nice to meet you!"

"My name is Keelan Jin-William. Nice to meet you too!"

"Ming Li Xue here thought that you were a foreigner, and I see she's correct. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I came here to sign up for some rudimentary Chinese classes. Does this university offer any?"

"As of the moment..." An Liu checked the computer screen. "One. It's every Monday afternoon, from two to four."

"Then I'll sign up for that."

"Okaaay...And you're in! Is there anything I can help you with?"

I scratched my head, and started to laugh sheepishly. "Uh, well, I was actually trying to get to Second Life's corporation building, I took a couple of wrong turns, and ended up here. Could you give me a map? I forgot a lot of stuff in America, including my phone."

"Oh! That's not good. Here, I'll draw you a map. You accidentally went to the wrong street. Here..." An Liu drew a detailed map and handed it to me.

"Okay, so I should turn right. Thank you!" I turned to leave, but An Liu grabbed my shoulder.

"You're holding the map upside down!"

"Oh. Okay, so I should go straight. Got it! Thank you!" I turned to leave again, and An Liu grabbed my shoulder, _again_.

"No, you're supposed to turn left! Here, I better come with you."

"It's fine, you don't need to."

"How would I be able to live with myself if I let a defenseless foreigner to fend for themselves? It's no trouble, Li Xue has something to do there, regardless."

"If you're sure it won't be troublesome, then please do! I actually have no sense of direction." I wasn't sure, but An Liu muttered something along the lines of "I could tell", but, of course, my selective hearing is excellent like that.

"Now, we turn left, go straight, and turn right. Go to 368 XXY Street, and I'll tell you again from there."

"Yosh! Right, left, and straight."

"You need a guide, PA, and army of bodyguards to keep watch over you, don't you?"

* * *

I finally made it to Second Life's corporation building with An Liu and Li Xue in tow. Standing back, I could feel the majestic presence of the building. _It's..It's..._

_It's really, really, really big! _It was the height of Mount Everest, and as wide as the Pacific Ocean.

Okay, maybe I was exaggerating just the _smallest_ bit.

Anyways, An Liu guided me towards the main building.

"Here. Anyways, we'll take you back home as well. Here, take my phone. Call Li Xue's phone number when you're done, and we'll take you home.

I bowed to him, deeply touched. "Thank you!"

An Liu blushed, flustered. "It's nothing, really. Any person would do it." He waved goodbye to me as Li Xue dragged him off to a faraway distance. I walked in, taking my hood off as the inside was really warm.

_Now, where would the computer programming section be?_ I turned to the pretty receptionist, who was busy typing something.

"Excuse me?" I interrupted quietly with a gentle and charming smile. "Could you tell me-"

"I'm-sorry-we-can't-give-out-Prince's-real-life-id entity-or-his-address." She continued to type furiously without looking up.

_Well, excuuse me. _"Uh, I'm actually-"

"If-you-continue-to-be-a-nuisance-we-will-escort-y ou-from-the-building."

"Hey, lady. I'm not here for Prince. I'm here to find out where the computer programming section is, to find my brother. After you tell me that, I'll be gone." My tone turned extremely cold. _Dammit, look at me and tell me that. Stop typing and look up! Aren't receptionists supposed to be warm?_

The receptionist looked up, and blushed. "Oh, my apologies. W-we get a lot of f-fangirls asking for Prince, so I accidentally took you for one, s-sir."

_Sir? I'll deal with that later._ "So, could you give me precise directions to the computer programming section?"

"Uh, you can only get there by appointment. Could you please give me your name?"

"Keelan Jin-William."

The receptionist's face was amusing to watch. It turned white with shock, red with recognition, and almost green with envy. _Pfft._

"You would be Michael's sister, then?" The receptionist started coughing. "*Cough* Well, that was unexpected. Anyways, you don't need an appointment. Your father left instructions for you to head to the Graphic Design department, and to meet Mr. Sean Ryu."

"Uh, directions?" _Ugh, that stupid "dad" already predicted I'd be here. What else did he set up?_

"Oh, that's right. Your father also left instructions for a secretary to take you there, since your sense of direction was abysmal." _...He knows me too well._

* * *

The secretary excused herself as we neared the Graphic Design department. "I'm sorry, but my boss just called me. I need to go now, but the Graphic Design department is right there." She pointed to a closed door. "Excuse me."

"Thank you."

She left, and I studied the door, and started to pace back and forth. _Hm. Sean probably would be happy to see me, right?_

Someone tapped on my shoulder. "Excuse me, I need to go through." I turned around to see the nice auntie from before. You know, the one that helped me out.

"Oh, auntie! Thank you for helping me out earlier!" I bowed with my hands together, not noticing the expression on her face.

The auntie grabbed my shoulder. "You-Did you just call me an auntie?!" She yanked my shoulder so that I was face to face with her. "You insolent-" The blood drained from her face.

"Huh? Auntie, what's wrong?" She didn't reply, but held her face closer and closer to mine, inching foward slightly.

_Uwah, the woman's a perv!_ I kicked her off and opened the Graphic Design door. I stuck my tongue out at her, and moved through the door. "Perv!" I slammed the door shut, ignoring the looks from everyone inside.

* * *

Long Shui Han stared in shock. _That face belongs to Prince! I would recognize that face anywhere! Well, more precisely, it belongs to Prince's black haired, not as tall, and not as handsome version. The Prince before I improved it, of course._

Shui Han stood up and dusted herself off. _Time to go find out who that guy was. He was pretty handsome for real life, though. I didn't hear anything about a new guy joining the GD department. _She set off at a quick stride towards the GM section.

* * *

Sean's reaction to my entrance had been...entertaining, to say the least. The others working in the department were funny as well. Sean was stunned, and didn't speak.

"Kyah, so handsome!"

"Oh my God! So cute! Tell jie-jie* your name!"

"My name is Keelan William. I'm a girl."

"...What?"

"I'm. A. Girl."

At this point, Sean woke up out of his stupor, and began barking orders to the stunned fangirls. "Hey! Let me remind you that she's new here. Leave her alone."

"At this point, we were dying to have a hottie in the office." The women were complaining as they slowly went back to their workstations.

"What? I don't count?" Sean sounded extremely hurt.

"No offense, but we've been looking at your face for too long to consider you handsome anymore."

On the outside, I was smiling demurely, but on the inside...

_Buahahaha! To think that the boss gets bullied by the employees! I now see why they were able to get away with designing Night Angel the NPC as Sean. Sean's heartbroken expression is priceless. Anyways, this seems to be a mostly female department._

"Is this an all girl department?" I asked the woman sitting closest to me.

"Eh? Oh, yeah, pretty much. Sean doesn't count." The woman pointed at an empty computer terminal right next to her. "Sit here, and I'll help you out with your assignments."

The computer was a gaming computer, with a high GB graphics card, huge storage disk drive, and a really, really nice tablet. I was practically salivating. _This is heaven~_

* * *

I teleported to the apartment near the XXX University that had been prepared for me. Lying on the bed, super exhausted, I stared at the ceiling. _In the end, I didn't get to meet Michael, but it's okay. At least I have a place to stay for a little while, or at least until Mom calms down. _I turned uneasily. _Mom...she'll calm down eventually, right? I think that going to China for a vacation will be okay. I need to tell Michael about what happened to Mom. Maybe he'll know what to do._

_Isn't it ironic? "Dad" tried to convince me to go to China, and I refused. His visit made Mom crazy, so I got here in the end. You'd almost think someone was planning it._

* * *

A/N: It's short, I know. Anyways, two chapters on the same day. This is mostly to explain why Keelan felt the need to head to China.

Alpenwolf: It's meant to be a little ambiguous.

*If anyone forgot, jie-jie is older sister, literally, but can be used to refer to an older female.


	10. Chapter 10

Drifter Ch. 10-Special!

A/N: As a celebration of reaching the tenth chapter, I will post character introductions, plot bunnies, and things that have nothing to do with the story!

Just kidding.

* * *

Drifter Ch. 10-Subtle Hints

Real A/N: Okay, I realize the China thing was sudden. There's a really good reason for that, I promise.

^Tower of God ultra reference, FTW~! Tangsooyuk-Fried meat in sweet and sour sauce.

* Apparently 7 and 14 are also unlucky numbers in China. If you didn't know, well, Wikipedia is your best friend.

Also, shortening the stats thing to the essential parts-Name, gender, level, race, class, health, and mana.

Gotta catch all the names (minus the generic ones)!

Nope, not mine. Never was, never will be.

* * *

"Okay. I know this is sudden, but...Willow, are you ready for this?" I placed my hands on Willow's shoulders and stared at him.

He stared back, his gaze unwavering and resolute. "Yes. I've decided to this, no matter the consequences. Gale, stop stalling." He sighed. "We'll be fine without your protection. Now, hurry up and get our team number and our first opponent. Stop being so lazy!"

_I was just worried, okay?_ I put the cloak on, ran to the number drawing table, and drew a number for our team. "The seventh division...Number 1414."

I stared at it. "...Yes!"

"Hey! What's the number?" Arachne's voice echoed over the PM system.

"Seventh division, 1414. Hey, it's all sevens!"

Name: Nightingale| Gender: Unknown| Level: 52| Race: Angel-Brown| Class: Dancer-Special| Health: 3900| Mana: 1000

"...Nightie, no offense, but what's wrong with your luck*?" Night Angel sighed. "Anyways, we're here. Seventh division, 1414-Blue Moon. Our opponent is a team called Tangsooyuk^."

"What's wrong with sevens?"

Name: Night Angel| Gender: Male| Level: 51| Race: Demon| Class: Slayer| Health: 4500| Mana: 800

"Oh? Really? Tangsooyuk is really, really good~ Let's go buy some after we win!" Ice Storm was exuberant. I found the team pretty easily and settled down.

Name: Ice Storm| Gender: Male| Level: 49| Race: Elf| Class: Mage| Health: 2500| Mana: 3300

"Aren't you being a little too excited?" I was a little sarcastic.

He laughed, uncaring. "Of course I am! This is so cool!"

Dream, who was at his side, was looking a little pale. "Uh, I don't feel so good..."

Name: Dream| Gender: Female| Level: 50| Race: Human| Class: Archer| Health: 2300| Mana: 1500

Willow patted her back. "It's okay, just follow my instructions during the matches."

Name: Willow| Gender: Male| Level: 51| Race: Spirit-Tree| Class: Priest| Health: 2800| Mana: 3000

Arachne was too busy looking around to comment. I tapped her on the back and she jumped. "Eh! Oh, what?"

Name: Arachne| Gender: Female| Level: 50| Race: Human| Class: Summoner| Health: 2300| Mana: 2900

"Why are you looking around?"

"There aren't any handsome guys around..."

Willow sighed. "Your _boyfriend_ is right here, you know."

I looked at our sighing, excited, sarcastic, pale, comforting, and bishie-crazed team (Dream: I take offense from that. I am _nothing_ like Arachne).

"Let's do this!"

* * *

"Hello, everyone! I am your commentator Xiao Lee, and this match is between the much acclaimed Team Tangsooyuk and little-known Blue Moon. Coming in from the northern entrance is Team Tangsooyuk, and their team is made up of an angel priest, human archer, beastman warrior, human summoner, angel mage, and elven thief!"

The angel priest at the front was flawlessly pretty. Her hair flashed brightly in the sun, and her eyes gleamed. "We will win this competition and claim Second Life's most famous spot!"

I stopped in my tracks as I saw her face. My teammates behind me stopped too, confused.

"Did Gale fall in love at first sight?" _Dream, I'll get you for that one later._

"Eh, why aren't we destroying them?"

_Damn. YOU! Why are so freaking feminine? You're practically clinging onto the beastman's arm! You are a disgrace to independent women everywhere! You...you...you..._

_Actually, I think I'm only mad because she has something I never will have-a chest! Goddammit! I'm so FREAKING angry!_

I turned around, and I could see that my teammate's faces went extremely pale.

"W-we were only joking!"

"You're radiating a killer aura, Gale...That's a little scary..."

I pointed to Willow, our strategist. "Hey. What's the fastest way to take down that priest?"

"Killing the archer and thief first, taking out the warrior, taking out the mage, taking out the summoner, and then killing the priest."

"Can't we kill her off first?!"

"No..."

"Let's kill her off first."

"...Okay, but do exactly as I say."

The commentator was still ranting on. "Blue Moon is made of an angel Dancer, demon Slayer, spirit priest, elven mage, human archer and human summoner. As the Dancer class is a special class, the Slayer is not a widely known class, and the spirit race is extremely rare, this is just too much of an unpredictable team!"

I walked into the arena, my extremely pissed off face showing, thanks to the lack of a cloak.

"...Good lord..."

Just then, the rest of my extremely good looking team entered as well.

"Oh my GOD! Look at that guy in the front, he's so pretty!"

"Is that a girl? I think that's a girl..."

"Never mind that, look at the really cute elf! He's adorable!"

_And, as expected, we attracted attention again..._ I focused on the priest in front. She was sort of in a daze, and staring lewdly at Ice Storm. _And, not as expected, the priest is a person attracted to shotas. No comment._

"Hey, cutie. Wanna come to my team after the contest?" The priest giggled and winked at Ice Storm.

Dream's temper started to flare. "So, she's after _my_ man, is she? Hee hee, I'm gonna get to her before Nightingale does..." Only the team could hear her whispering over the team channel, but everyone could hear her sharpening her arrowheads and knife. _Scary! Scary!_

Willow started to analyze instantly. "Gale, you want the priest to die first?"

"My ire has slightly lessened, mainly due to the fact I don't think Dream will let the priest die an easy death..."

Willow took a look at Dream, and concurred, "Good point. Anyways, both you and Night Angel are speed based attackers, so Night Angel, take down the thief first. Gale, stall the warrior. Arachne should try to kill off the summoner. Dream can take her revenge, I guess..." Willow looked back again, and gulped. "Ice Storm, aid Arachne."

"Got it. Hey, Dream," I called. Dream turned to me, her eyes full of wrath and destruction.

"Don't kill her before I'm finished, okay?"

"No promises."

"Fair enough, I guess." I nodded to the referee, and he announced, "Start!"

"Heaven that fills the sky, hell that fills the earth, burn with the fire of life. I summon, Fire Golem!" Arachne brought out a fire-elemental, and had it set up a barrier.

"Stone Will! Fury Ignition! Windstep!" Willow slammed his staff on the ground, and released the buffs.

System: Blue Moon team has defense increased by 10%. Blue moon team has attack increased by 10%. Speed increased by 5.

I cried, "Jumpstart!" and immediately took off, flying close to the ground to attack the warrior. I had the upper hand, since he was stunned by the sudden fight.

Night Angel dashed forward to intercept the thief, and Arachne started to direct the Fire Golem.

The announcer exhaled loudly. "This certainly is a powerful team. Nightingale, the Dancer, has already started to clash with the beastman's mace. The beastman, surprised, is being forced back gradually! Many wounds are appearing on his body. Night Angel is attacking furiously with the whip, but the thief is just as fast. The Fire Golem is making quick work of the skeletons with the aid of the Blue Moon mage. And-whoa, whoa, whoa! The Blue Moon archer is launching a practical barrage of arrows! And they're all aimed at the priest of the Tangsooyuk team."

_Looks like my team's doing fine..._ I refocused on the battle as the mace hit my stomach.

"Ooph!" I skid backwards, lost my grip on Black Swan, and had to jump to my feet. _That actually hurt!_

System: Player Nightingale has lost the added affects of the Swan set. Changes take place immediately.

_This damn system..._I refocused and started to strike with both hands on White Swan. _What I lost in versatility, I'll make up in steadiness. _As expected, my attacks started to push the beastman warrior's HP towards the red zone.

As the priest started to chant a healing spell, I yelled at Dream, "Hey! Are you sleeping or something? Wake up!"

"Shut up!" Dream sent three arrows towards the priest, and fired a fourth. "Sharp Rain." The three arrows immediately went through the the priest's vital points, and the fourth through her head. With the healing spell stopped, I began to renew the attacks, upping the pace faster and faster.

"Hyah! Uuwah!" The last blow hit the beastman's neck, and he became a pillar of light. I ran back to rejoin Dream and Willow. "Dream!"

She shrugged, not looking the least bit ashamed. "So?"

Willow sighed. "Nightingale, take out the summoner and archer from the other team. Dream, support Night Angel. Night Angel, go for the mage after the thief dies."

"Got it!" I picked up Black Swan from the ground, and charged. Dream hefted her greatbow again, and fired like a person on fire. Sorry, bad pun. (Willow: That doesn't even count as a pun.)

_All this sprinting is wearing me out..._ "Dragon Dance!" The mage quickly fell, and Arachne's Fire Golem made it even easier. The summoner pulled back his skeletons and directed them at me. "Che!"

"Ice Storm!" I dashed to the side and went immediately for the summoner. Meanwhile, you could hear Ice Storm chanting a really, really, really long incantation.

"Blue Moon's really destroying this team now! Nightingale, who has already taken down the beastman warrior is continuously attacking the summoner. Blue Moon's archer is supporting Night Angel with a steady river of arrows-ah! The Tangsooyuk thief has already been turned into a pillar of white light! The Blue Moon mage released a powerful spell that killed off the summoner, and now the only ones left are the mage and archer, which are both extremely physique-lacking classes."

_Psh, I can't let Night Angel beat me in this one! _"Heaven's Sky!" A streak of slashes hit the archer right on, and she vomited blood. The final pierce went right through her stomach, and her health decreased dramatically. Viola jumped on her head and started scratching.

Night Angel was also attacking furiously. "Demon Lash!" His whip turned into an extremely dark, pulsating lash, and left some nasty burns.

We performed our final attacks at the same time.

"Piercing Wind!"

"Final Thorn!"

The archer died a little bit before the mage, so I smiled smugly at Night Angel. "Ha. Beat that!"

"Nonsense, you started before I did."

"Not true!"

"Winner, Blue Moon!" The referee announced.

* * *

We won battle after battle. We became famous to an extent for our fighting abilities, but even more so for our...

You guessed it! Appearance. Even Dream got molested. In the end, we became so sick of it that we slaughtered anyone who started getting too touchy with us. The system didn't even mark us as criminals since they were "attacking" us. In the end, they left us alone, but I heard a strange rumor. Apparently we were all beautiful, sadistic people who enjoyed beating people up with a smile on our faces.

Let me clear that up! I only smiled when killing our molesters because I was getting sick of it.

I also heard another rumor that Dream and Arachne were into each other, since they were completely unaffected by such pretty boys.

_Arachne_ into girls? The sky will fall before that happens. I think Willow would commit suicide...And I would die of laughter.

Finally, I heard that Viola was actually the seventh member of our party, and was from the cat race.

What bull is that? Viola's a _cat_. You're not even allowed to participate in the tournament if you have less or more than six members. Come to think of it, is there even a cat race?

In the end, we were celebrating over bowls of udon. "Woo! We made it to the finals!" I clinked a mug of lemonade with Arachne. "Cheers!"

Dream was still pessimistic. "I dunno, now that we got into the finals, it's going to be quite a mess. I mean, they're all going to be insanely powerful."

Ice Storm grabbed her hands, shocking both of us. Well, I was shocked. Dream looked like she had a very enjoyable heart attack.

"_We_ are powerful as well. We've got a transvestite dancer, feminine slayer, super girly priest, one perverted summoner, a deadly archer, and the only person that looks like a guy here. Of course we'll scare off all the competition."

The feminine slayer and girly priest immediately started to beat up the only person that looked like a guy. "You're not joining in?" asked Dream seriously.

"Why should I?"

"He insulted you."

"I tend to not take insults from high school brats all too seriously."

"Point taken."

Arachne, Dream, and I watched leisurely as Ice Storm was beaten to a pulp.

* * *

Have you heard about that beautiful team that's just leisurely clearing the tournament? They have an amazing team composition. -phoenixrules

I was reading online about Second Life when I came across this and spewed tea.

Yeah! The lead attacker has a special class, which is supposed to be SUPER rare to get. And he's so cute! -perfectprincesschan

I heard that he was a sadistic guy who enjoyed beating up all his followers. Gotta respect that. -demonkingofblood

He's not the only hottie on the team. -homestucktroll

Wait a minute, the dancer's a guy? Could have sworn that was a girl. -kuikicksbutt

Speaking of which, is that priest a guy? -ascendantdragoons

He's a guy. I hope. He's so hot! -ishiplikefedex

Plus, there's that cutie Ice Storm. Looks like one of those child actors. -percabeth

The archer is impressive! She always knows exactly where to hit and at exactly the right moment. That kind of thing is pure instinct, not training. -icefox

Summoner has some pretty good monsters. Took me forever to catch a golem. Wonder how long it took her. -dandan888

But that weird slayer looks really girly. -we_are_legion

Yeah. Looks super lame. -fenglan1004

Gotta agree. You can sort of tell he's a guy, but the fact that he first looked like a girl sort of freaked me out... -kayaille

Silently, I took a screenshot of the conversation, and then added my own reply.

Wonder what they look like in real life? -swandance

* * *

A/N: I hope you had as much fun with the names as I did. homestucktroll, ishiplikefedex, percabeth, we_are_legion, and kayaille are all references to awesome things (well, except maybe the last one).

Reccomendation! Read Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. Read it. Read it nao! You won't regret it.

Peace out!


	11. Chapter 11

Drifter Ch. 11-Ashy Remains

Hello! I'm back!

Thank you to all that reviewed. I really appreciate it :3

Yes, Dream can carry Ice Storm. She has a lot of points in the strength stat. How else would she be able to fire that great bow? And Arachne is a summoner, which means (to me) that she has her teammates weaken the monster and she just captures them. So, she got bored and spread her points around.

Nope, don't own the storyline, but I do own Nightingale and the rest of them.

By the way, I love IA. Just random advertising. Don't mind me.

* * *

"Hey. Bad news." Night Angel, as the most mature person on the team, came back after being called away by the Second Life GMs.

"What is it?"

"They're canceling the rest of the tournament-"

"WHAT?" Dream sounded traumatized.

"No, I did _not _go through all that torture for nothing." Willow, close to tears, put his head at the memory of being the second-most mobbed by fanpeople.

"Let me finish! They're canceling the rest of the tournament in exchange for a humongous melee in a week."

Sitting quietly at the window, watching all the bishounens in the street go by, Arachne asked, "How big?"

"One hundred teams, or six hundred people."

The room fell silent.

"Six hundred. You've got to be kidding me. How would we survive with five hundred ninety four other people trying to kill us?"

My words sparked a panic. "Yeah, this is practically impossible."

"What are they thinking? This is insane!"

Night Angel sighed. "Apparently, they want to end the entire thing in one swoop. Understandable, but annoying."

Ice Storm sighed as well. "So, we're not going to win, are we?"

"Is there anything else?"

"Well, yeah. No potions, no pets, to even it out a little. And there's something about alliances being formed."

"So, we could team up with others, provided they don't kill us or betray us, correct?"

"Yeah. There's this one guy named Fan who approached me. Apparently he's interested in adding us to his group, since we're talented."

"Fan?" I was imagining something along the lines of one of those intricate Chinese fans.

"Pretty boy, angel, warrior."

I laughed. "Sounds like me."

"He has blond hair. But yeah, it does sound like you." Night Angel scowled. "Thing is...he's a really manipulative bastard." The scowl was so deep you could see it etched onto his face.

"Do you have some sort of personal history with him?" I was curious. Night Angel normally was easy going.

"Yeah, I do. He tried to hit on me before."

I looked away, my shoulders trembling in laughter. Meanwhile, Arachne was outright cackling. The rest of the team tried to suppress their mirth for Night Angel's sake.

I staggered over to Night Angel's side, placed my hand on his shoulder, and said, "It's okay. Remember what I told you before?"

"What?"

"I work at a gay bar."

"Oh. That's right."

Now, _everyone_ started laughing. _Why is it that you guys respect Night Angel and not me?!_

"Puahaha! What the hell?!"

"Kukuku...That's so stupid!"

"Why would you?"

I faced them with a blank face. "Because then I can reject everyone who hits on me."

Stone-faced, Night Angel and I stood off to the side as everyone else split their sides laughing. _At least Night Angel didn't abandon me._

After about ten minutes, I couldn't take it anymore.

"HEY! You do remember that Night Angel and I are the meat shields of the team? We could just abandon you?"

They shut up immediately.

I flopped back into a chair. "So, the real question is-"

"Can we back stab him before he most likely back stabs us?"

Night Angel shook his head. "No. I say we don't join him."

"Then how else are we going to be able to survive? I say yes." Dream voted yes.

"Are there any other factions?" Ice Storm asked.

"Yes. The human one, beastman, and Fan's. The beastman faction is obviously not an option. We wouldn't fit in." Night Angel replied easily.

"Then, what about the human one?"

"It seems that they were an Adventurer's Group before the tournament. No one's being allowed in."

"That's smart. That's what I would do. Yes to Fan." Ice Storm sighed heavily.

"I don't really want to-" Willow started to object until Arachne got him into a chokehold.

"I agree! Willow's abstaining." Arachne voted brightly.

"Then...I guess we're joining Fan. Did he give you any contact information?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to talk to him. Someone else do it." Night Angel looked really upset.

"Since Gale's the other warrior, I guess it wouldn't look too strange to have Gale do it."

"Yeah. Gale, you're doing it."

I shook my head. "Sacrificial lamb much?" I turned around. "Paging Fan, Paging Fan!"

A deep, gentle voice came back over the PM. "Yes, who is this?"

"My name is Nightingale, from the Blue Moon team. We received a proposal from you, and would like to accept."

"Ah, that's right. Thank you for accepting. We will be commencing training in around three hours at the Waterfall Cave."

"Thank you." I turned back to the team. "Waterfall Cave, three hours."

Everyone got to their feet, and left the room. Night Angel stayed behind.

"Nightingale. Do you really think we can trust him?"

"Hm. Based on how he was trying to hit on you, and just now, he was speaking in a very deep, gentle voice, I think he's a playboy."

"What?"

"He doesn't know my gender. No one does. So, he's not hitting on me _yet_ just in case I'm a guy. But if I was a girl, then I would be hooked by his voice."

"You _are_ a girl."

"Oh. Right. In any case, would it be safer for me to be a girl or guy?"

"Guy. Everyone already knows you as a guy, so it's safer that way."

"Got it. Now, let's go, shall we?"

* * *

Reaching the cave wasn't a big deal, since most of the team was physically decent, with the exception of Willow and Ice Storm.

As I carried Willow and flew, I taunted, "Are you even a guy? You can't even jog for ten minutes before collapsing."

"..." He stayed silent throughout the entire trip, but I could see the embarrassment on his face.

The rest of the team was running right below me, with Dream carrying Ice Storm and looking really happy.

Willow challenged me, "Are you a guy? You're not running like the rest of the te-"

He got cut off as I "accidentally" dropped him, then caught him right before he hit the ground.

"Hm? Couldn't hear you."

"N-never mind..."

I touched down gently in the meadow directly outside of the Waterfall Cave, and turned around.

"Everyone here?"

Night Angel took a quick headcount. "Yup, six." He took a deep breath.

"Nightingale, from what I've heard from my friends in the Computer Programming section is that this area was designed to be very difficult. Will we really be alright?"

"Don't know. Let's go in anyways, since we're already here. How do we get in?"

"Just run through. There's a cave right behind the waterfall."

I jumped forward and unfurled my wings. "Jumpstart!"

System: Jumpstart activated.

I hurtled towards the wall, aiming for that one patch on the waterfall that seemed darker than the rest.

* * *

Fortunately, my instinct was correct and I tumbled into a cave, not into a stone wall.

Unfortunately, there were about five monsters waiting for me inside the cave.

"You've got to be kidding me," I sighed.

All of them were of the water and grass affiliation.

_Okay, think back to Pokemon. I think Sky type worked the best?_

"Piercing Wind!" Both blades whipped around at a furious speed, creating many small whirlwinds that whipped around the targets, and the health went down dramatically.

_Haha! I knew my old __obsession with really old video games would come in handy! Next thing you know, I'll need to know how to stomp on a Goomba correctly._

The only problem was...Piercing Wind took up a huge chunk of mana. I stole a peek at the mana bar.

Mana Points: 599/1200

"Uwah! Ack! Someone come in already and help me!" Unable to do anything without the mana, and unable to drink a mana potion, I could only dodge the elemental creatures' blows.

_These are really weird. They're really big creatures that move slowly, but have a lot of power behind each attack. Plus, the water affiliation monsters are really...Jello-y, if that's a word._

"Psh, can't die now! Hraaaah-! Take that, jello!" I killed one with a vital strike to the...I have no idea. Come to think of it, do jellos have a weak spot?

Anyways, it greatly decreased the pressure, and I held them off simultaneously while inflicting small wounds on each one.

One by one, the jellos left the world.

System: Player Nightingale has killed Water Elemental and Grass Elemental. Experience has increased to XXXX/XXXXX.

I leant my hands on my knees, catching my breath.

Over the team channel, I yelled angrily, "Hey! What took you guys so long? I nearly got killed off by jellos!"

"Oh! Uh, we were...um, training outside." A suspicious sound was legible to my selective-hearing ears. _No way, they wouldn't have..._

"Training my ass! You were eating!" I roared. "Get in here right now!"

* * *

After berating them for several minutes, we charged through the cave with Night Angel leading, Ice Storm, Arachne, and Dream in the middle, with Willow and I watching the back.

For some reason, the monsters were much easier than the jellos from before. Then again, Night Angel had three other people watching out for him.

In the end, we made it to a spot deep inside the cave where there were many people already there, milling about.

Murmurs and whispers arose.

"Oh my God, so the rumors about Blue Moon accepting are true!"

"Kyaah, what a hottie!"

"I want to go one on one with Nightingale."

I turned and flashed a menacing smile at the speaker of the last sentence. He shrank away.

"My, my. So, we're all in attendance now, I believe?" A deep, gentle voice arose from the far end of the crowd.

"Are we late?"

"Not at all. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...?"

"Not a Miss. In face, please just call me Nightingale."

The owner of the voice came into view slowly.

I could see a lot of the girls in the crowd sighing with adoration, and with good reason.

Fan was an Angel of the white race, and his long blond hair came to around his ribcage, while his summer-sky blue eyes sparkled like the-

Okay, lemme put this another way: If this were Twilight_, _then this would definitely one of the vampires from the aforementioned hideous book. (A/N: I do not condone the reading of, movie adaptation of, or existence of the horror known as...Twilight. And, no, I am not a Twiheart. More like a Twihate.)

_So, I'm a masculine-ish girl. He's a girly guy. Who has it worse?_

I strode forward to shake his outstretched hand. Sure, his smile seemed genuine enough, but I still trusted my gut instincts. _He's a playboy if I ever saw one._

Arachne was laughing at the side. "What's so funny?" I PM'ed.

"I can hear a lot of the girls nearly fainting at the sight of two bishounens next to each other. Wonder what it would be if you were joined by Prince."

_I'm starting to really get curious about this Prince character. Why is he so special?_

"Then, let us start training for the grand melee. Welcome to the Divine Coalition."

* * *

Melee fighters didn't focus on raising level, but rather physical ability. Essentially, my training consisted of fighting another person of the same level and class as you. Since I obviously had no one else in my class, I trained against Fan.

He was a decent swordsman, but what got me most of the time was how he'd strike. He'd seemingly aim for one area, then turn around and attack another area.

"Ch!" I winced as a cut appeared on my face for the hundredth time. However, he hadn't gotten that blow in without getting a major gash on his arm.

The priests' training consisted of sitting at the side and healing injuries. The one assigned to our bout was extremely efficient, and a light glow appeared on both bodies after the blow.

Mages practiced AOE spells on the mobs inside the cave, while archers, summoners, thieves, and various others tried to kill them before the mobs got to the mages.

The training was insanely intense, and many people were leveling.

Ding!

System: Player Ice Storm has gained XXX experience, experience level at XXXX/XXXX, experience level at XX/XXXXX. Level up!

Ding!

System: Player Kui has gained XXX experience, experience level at XXXX/XXXX, experience level at XX/XXXXX. Level up!

In other words, the air was filled with noisy cries and "Ding!"s from the system.

The only two people still not leveling up?

Fan and I were stuck in a continuous battle. He had the upper hand in terms of strategy, but I was more able to easily respond to his attacks. In the end, we were simply circling around each other, honing our reactions, defenses, and offenses.

We both forfeited at the same time due to exhaustion, since our round had gone on for at least thirty minutes.

"Well fought."

"Yes, well fought. Good match."

The crowd that had been watching dispersed, leaving Fan with one of his (many) women, while Willow helped me to my feet.

"That was an intense battle. Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I tilted my head back and laughed breathlessly. "Whoo~ I'm going to need a break. But, I think I learned something today."

"That's good, I guess."

"I'm going to go beat up some jellos." My nickname for the unfortunate creatures had stuck, and now _everyone_ called them the jellos.

"Then...Good luck, I guess." Willow looked like he was trying to decide on something.

I waved a hand, and left the main cavern that served as our headquarters.

Unfortunately, I got lost. Really lost.

_Damn you, my horrible sense of direction!_

I was about to retrace my steps, when I heard an ear-splitting scream come from a certain direction. My eyes gleamed. _Sounds like fun!_ Without a second thought, I ran off to go find the source of the sound.

* * *

A/N: No, I do NOT condone the Twilight series.

I do not.

Okay, maybe I read it once or twice, but that's the extent of my interaction with that series.

Anyhoo, going to be on the East Coast for Spring Break, so not updating for about a month or two.

And, no, I don't want Nightingale to directly interact with Prince, because that would mean,

A) Changing the original storyline

B) Doing something I HATE-Making this story into an AU.

Yes, I know there are certain parts where Prince isn't all too specific about certain things, and I'll try to take advantage of that, but in the end, Nightingale is in an act all her (?) own.

Thanks for reading ^-^


	12. Chapter 12

Drifter Ch. 12-Directly Before

Ehehe, so I lied. It's a bit earlier than a month, but I couldn't stop writing...and writing...and writing...So this got done.

Mou ikkai, mou ikkai~Matrrrryoshyka~Watashi no koi-o~Aishita tte ii janai ka~

Excuse me, I'm a Miku-Luka-Len-Rin-Gumi-SeeU-Piko-Ia-tard. Don't mind me~

Tsumetai heya no sumi ni~

And, yes, I have started to watch the infamous Project Gay-K. It's Project K.

*Tang jie means sugar sister in Mandarin, and can be used to refer to someone who may not necessarily be related to the speaker. It's a term of affection.

Also, both the announcer's text and support group name are copied directly from Half Prince. So sue me, just take about hundred fifty words off if that's considered plagiarism. Come to think of it, the support group's name is way OVER 9000~! Just kidding.

I don't own anything but my OC's, my writing, and my taco. *eat taco* Well, I guess just the OC's and my writing.

* * *

I look back upon that training and shudder. That scream? It came from Dream talking dreamily to Ice Storm, thus resulting in them not paying attention, thus resulting in having a giant blue water jelly attack them.

In the end, I had to fight it _one on one_. And it was a boss. And insanely strong. I nearly died at least eight times. At least Dream had the sense to help me out. I admit that Dream may kind of irritate me some times, but she has common sense. Ice Storm? He was knocked out. Not much of a man, is he?

* * *

"Ugh, so nervous..." Again, Dream was panicking.

"We'll be fine. Even if we don't win this thing, at least we still got a whole load of experience points."

"Shut up, Gale." Ice Storm shot me a look that clearly meant "Please stop helping."

"Jeez, just trying to help." I grumbled and turned to the corner, about to start growing mushrooms...

"Hello, Nightingale?"

"Ah, yes, Fan."

"I just wanted to say good luck in the coming battle, and please remember to be at the actual stadium thirty minutes before the competitions to discuss strategy." _Good luck? Good luck for you is bad luck for us. Or a knife in the back, either one._

"Same to you." _Ehehe, I kinda feel like a hypocrite._

I turned around. "We've got an hour until we need to start heading towards the stadium. What do you guys want to do?"

"Eat!" _Ice Storm, for such a cute boy, you sure have a bottomless stomach. More accurately, a bottomless pit of a stomach._

"Train." Being the practical person he was, Willow immediately recommended training.

"Look at hot-" She didn't finish her sentence before being headlocked by Dream.

"Ah, you're feeling better?" I asked Dream.

"Yeah. I think we should probably relax, I guess. If we go overboard with the training, then we won't be able to come back in time," Dream replied.

Night Angel piped in. "I hear that there are a lot of vendors around the stadium, selling a lot of stuff. We can split up and do whatever we want to do, and get to the stadium entrance at the agreed time."

I nodded. "That sounds like the best way for all of us. All in favor?"

"Yes!" Night Angel nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! Hot guy-" _Headlocked again._

"Yeah, why not." Dream casually released the headlock.

"Sure." Ice Storm grinned, happy with the prospect of food.

"I'm in." Willow added his assent with a carefree thumbs up.

"Then, let's go and have fun! Don't forget to be at the entrance at the appointed time."

* * *

_Wow! There really is a lot of stuff here!_ I walked around in amazement. You could see vendors selling magical charms to food to trinkets to souvenirs. I even saw a person selling banners and signs.

By far, one of the most popular signs was the "I LOVE PRINCE" banner, with the "ODD SQUAD FOR THE WIN" being a close second. Various other team names were selling fairly well.

To my great amusement, there was a very pretty girl who took one of the empty banners and painted it "DOWN WITH GAY GUILIASTES". She seemed to be struggling to paint a picture of the bard's face on there.

...What do you mean how would I know Guiliastes? Of course I would know him. I was interested in the musical department, and this guy turned up a lot. Being a demon bard was a very..._unique_ choice, after all.

"Would you like some help with that?" I offered, amused.

The girl looked up, and all she saw was a helpful stranger with a cloak on. "Yes, please! I'm trying to paint Guiliastes' face on here. Have you seen him before?"

"Yes. Here, give me the paintbrush." I took the paintbrush from her hands, and quickly did a quick sketch of Guiliastes' face. "Color that in and you're all done."

"Thank you!" She looked at me curiously. "Could you possibly also be a member of the Rescue the Super Handsome Prince from the Demonic Clutches of the Gay Guiliastes and Help Prince Understand the Goodness of Women Once Again Support Group?"

_What a ridiculous name!_ "No, I'm sorry. I'm just a wandering artist."

"Oh, I see. Thank you for your help. My name is Fairsky. Yours is...?"

"Nightingale."

"Ah, thank you, Nightingale. Are you competing?"

"Yes, in fact I am. Good luck with your support group, Miss Fairsky." I took off throughout the maze of vendors to find some cotton candy.

* * *

"Hey, tang jie*! I got the sign done!" Fairsky proudly held up the sign to Snow White Rose. "A passing person named Nightingale helped me to paint it."

"Nightingale?" Rose paused. "Ah, he's that dancer. Apparently he's been compared to Prince, but not as well known. I guess he's just not as handsome. Anyways, why are you dragging me into this? I don't want Odd Squad to see this, and especially right after I finally broke off, too!" Rose lightly bonked Fairsky on the head. Of course, being a mage, it didn't do any actual damage at all.

"Chances are that Odd Squad will be too busy fighting to notice us. I still have to keep the support group going in your absence, tang jie."

Rose sighed, ruffled Fairsky's hair, and compromised. "Okay, I'm fine with the sign, but you're not allowed to be anywhere near Rose Team. Don't be mean to the poor couple, I'm sure Prince and Gui face enough difficulties with their boy's love."

Fairsky pouted. "There's a reason I'm trying to break that up! Such a hottie as Prince is NOT allowed to be gay. (A/N: Well, Prince technically isn't gay...) So, it's our job to break that up. Just because you left doesn't mean I'll ever stop."

"You'll fall out of it soon when you meet a person you love. So, don't get too entrenched into it." Rose smiled, and blushed slightly, which immediately drew Fairsky's attention.

"Eh, no way...Broken Sword?"

"Yeah." Rose shyly nodded, and then ducked her head to protect herself from Fairsky's slaps.

"But, I'll never be like you, tang jie. Prince is the hottest guy I know so far, so I'll stick to him like a burr. End of story."

Rose didn't reply, and simply sighed again. "I hope not, Fairsky. I really hope not."

* * *

I met the team at the entrance, exactly at the meeting time.

"Hey, Ga-What's up with with all that stuff?!" Willow shrieked.

"Uh, I bought several good luck charms, two bags of cotton candy, one pair of new shoes, and three plates of fried rice. I am completely ready to go," I replied with total seriousness.

"Idiot!"

Dream discovered a mysterious bag while I was getting berated by Willow. "Gale, what's this?"

I answered, while fending off Willow's blows, "They're our good luck charms. Choose your favorite."

Dream dumped the contents of the bag on the ground, and gasped. "Oh my..."

Our good luck charms were basically accessories with our team symbol on them-a crescent blue moon.

Dream immediately selected the black choker with the dangling lunar pendant. "This is...so cool."

Willow added as he picked up a pair of gloves, "Okay, this is pretty awesome. You're forgiven."

Ice Storm took the wraparound bracelet and wrapped it around his magic stave, while Arachne took the earrings.

Night Angel looked uncertain as he took the last item in the bag, a line of strong thread meant to be wrapped around the waist. It had several moon pendants dancing here and there. "What about you?"

In answer, I took the simple silver chain from underneath my clothes. "This should do just fine." It was very simple, with a fine silver chain, while the main jewel centerpiece was a moon made out of pearl with several blue streaks. "I ran out of options, since I didn't want to repeat anything. The guy even gave me a super good deal, so it wasn't too expensive."

Dream rolled her eyes. "Maybe the guy who sold these to you was gay?" But, I could tell by the way she stroked the pendant that she liked it very much.

"Hey, we've got awesome matching accessories, what else do we need?" I laughed, and we entered the coliseum.

* * *

Just by entering the coliseum, you could instantly tell the main three camps. The really ugly beastman leader was standing at the front of his group, the slightly cute human was standing at the front of his group, and of course, Fan was standing at the head of his group. Excuse me, _our_ group.

The announcer hopped around like a wild man, shouting (and spitting) into his microphone. "Everyone, a hundred of Second Life's most outstanding teams will soon be participating in an intense battle for survival. Don't look away, or you'll miss seeing this exciting scene. Don't close your mouths – cheer your hearts out for your favorite team! I am Xiao Li, the commentator who will be reporting this entire life-and-death battle for you all today."

I headed immediately towards Fan, but Arachne stopped me. "Wait. Oh my God! Is that Prince over there? She pointed to a small group that had just entered as well.

The leader was _hot_. And I say this as a girl who's seen her fair share of handsome people. _Now I understand why people compare me to Prince._ His white hair was super soft and shiny looking, his red eyes were freaking amazingly-And now I sound like Arachne. _Ugh._

I was already used to Guiliastes, so no biggie there, but the other shocker was the auntie who had tried to push me down the other day. I pointed straight at her. "Hey, look! It's the pervert auntie!" She couldn't _possibly_ hear me, but her head seemed to whip around in my direction, and I heard Night Angel panic.

"Oh God, Oh God, it's Long Shui Han!"

Ice Storm asked uncomprehendingly, "What's wrong?"

"She is the daughter of the company president! I didn't know she was in Prince's team! Her presence there means something is really off with that team." He turned to me. "By the way, did you just call her the pervert auntie?"

"Yeah. She jumped me!" I added indignantly, "And she even seemed so nice at first! I guess she's just a no-good, rich girl who only spends money, likes to hit on pretty boys, and can't live on her own."

"I'm sure that's not true, Nightingale." _Say what you like, my woman's intuition is tingling._

"Hmph. Whatever. Let's go meet up with Fan." We crossed the very, very large stadium floor to the Divine Coalition.

Fan greeted us with a faint smile, and immediately started going over strategy. "Main goal is to completely eradicate the other coalitions, and we'll worry about the end when we cross that bridge. Blue Moon, I would appreciate it if you could keep nearby at any given time, since during this battle I will be most dependent on your team."

"Yes." _And also so you can stab us in the back._

"Thank you for cooperating, I'll treat you to a drink later." Fan smiled brilliantly. _Probably because you would feel guilty for stabbing us in the back._

Interestingly enough, Prince did not join any factions, but slipped away. I didn't pay much attention to that, and instead refocused on the battle at hand.

_The beastman warrior is really buff, but I bet he focused on strength, not agility. You can eventually wear him down. The human leader is well versed in agility and strength, I would bet. While Fan just excels at being a bastard, and attacks when you're not looking. He would be able to take down the beastman, but I doubt the human would be beaten so easily._

I faced my teammates. "No one's allowed to turn into a pillar of light until you kill someone, okay?"

"Of course. Stop worrying, and go have some fun." Night Angel grinned.

"This entire tournament was so worth it. Let's let loose now!" Arachne's eyes wandered over to a corner where Prince was standing, and where another team had joined them as well. _Holy crap, that dark elf is_ _hot._

Ice Storm said nothing, but merely readied his staff, his posture suggesting intense concentration. Dream also didn't speak but readied a whole boat load of arrows.

Willow fixed a steady smile on his face. "We didn't come here to lose without trying. Don't worry, Nightingale. We've got our good luck charms now." He held up his gloves.

I nodded, also with a smile on my face. "Whatever happens, happens. Let's go kick some serious ass!"

The judge yelled, "Battle, begin!"

* * *

Ehehe...So...please R&R! Thank you for reading *bow*


	13. Chapter 13

Drifter Ch. 13-Grand Melee

Hello! Imma back. Again. Sorry for the wait! Please enjoy! :D

This is dedicated to my IRL friend, who was the one who inspired me to write this crap-I mean fanfiction. Happy birthday, sweetie~ And, haha, yes, I waited THIS long to post just for her birthday. Sorry, readers T-T

And then it's dedicated to my other IRL friend, who introduced me to Vocaloid. I owe you one for life, girlfriend. Happy early birthday!

Nope, not mine.

*It's not really a skill name (that I know of), but for God's sake, _Poisonous Meatbun_ is more ridiculous sounding. You can make up BS abilities on the spot. FANFICTION HEAVEN~

* * *

A hush fell over the entire audience, and you would've heard a pin drop, had anyone cared to drop one.

The beastman warrior stared at both Fan and the human warrior. He flipped the bird, with both hands. Fan smiled, as usual, but I had trained with him enough at this point to know that he was pissed. The human warrior stayed completely quiet, and gave the beastman warrior a "look".

The three camps stood still, not daring to move at all. At least, until...

"Ah-ah-ah..." Night Angel, who was right next to me, looked like he was going to sneeze. _Beyond awkward._

"Ah-CHOO!" "AT THEM!" His sneeze, thank God, coincided with the beastman warrior declaring war on the human alliance.

I patted Night Angel on the back, whose face was as red as a tomato. "Good timing, huh?"

"Oh, geez." His bright red face seemed even brighter with his dark clothes.

Meanwhile, Fan held back some bloodthirsty members of our own alliance. "The clam and crane quarrel, the fisherman prevails." He shot a meaningful look at the chaotic fight.

_Oh, Fan, you sneaky, sneaky bastard._

So, we watched for quite a while. The battle didn't look like a "grand melee"...more like a "grand bar fight". People would quite literally run into the chaotic crowd and come back out in eight pieces. And yes, I worked in a bar, I would know what a bar fight looked like.

Or, at least, I _used_ to work at a bar.

..._Eh, I feel like crying now._

Moving on!

The mages and archers weren't able to aim their attacks properly, so they fired at random, causing God-knows-how many deaths from friendly fire.

_What horrible training._

All in all, there were countless pillars of light shooting up into the sky. I was about to sit down and set my feet up to watch the fireworks show when a human warrior started leading a force over to our Alliance.

I glanced back and shared a look with Night Angel.

_Let's begin._

I issued quick instructions to my group. "Do not go head to head. We can't win against four-hundred odd people. Only take them down if you can do it cleanly, and in three shots or less. Understand?"

"Understood. Let's start the party!" Arachne grinned wildly.

"...To the frozen goddess eternally in time, I offer these sacrifices to my lady. Frozen Void!" Ice Storm finished up a spell. A large prism of ice crystals formed slowly over the arena, and dropped. It hit dead center of the human-beast conflict, killing about fifteen people off, while injuring many others severely.

In response to all of our shocked faces, Ice Storm shrugged casually. "I got bored. So I started making up a really long spell."

System: Player Ice Storm has learned a new skill, Frozen Void.

"You...you..." I couldn't form words.

"'You're amazing.' C'mon, say it." Ice Storm smiled happily.

"Okay, just this once. Now check your mana."

"...Aw, crap."

Night Angel sighed. "There's no helping it. Willow, do you have any mana-regeneration spells?" _We weren't allowed to bring potions to the match._

"Yeah."

Night Angel and I stood guard around Willow and Ice Storm, the two physically horrible members of our team. Arachne summoned her golem, while Dream plucked her bowstring a few times.

"...Holy Blessing!"

System: Holy Blessing has been cast on the entire team. Mana will regenerate more quickly by 35%. Maximum health rose by 40%. Effects will only last for twenty minutes.

"That'll do. Arachne, Dream, stay here with these weaklings. Night Angel and I will go kill off some long-range people. We'll be back soon."

Dream only nodded, her eyes focused on a target.

Arachne was busy summoning all of her largest familiars.

Night Angel sprinted off to the left, suprising me. "Where are you going?" I dashed off as well, and quickly caught up.

He yelled back, "Wanna have a contest?"

"What?" I stumbled._  
_

"Two points for a melee attacker, one point for a long distance!"

"Night Angel, we're in the middle of the final round!" _Unlike your sneeze, this is bad timing..._

"You're just scared I'm going to win, aren't you?" He smiled smugly.

_You did not just go there._ "Oh, like hell I'm scared!" I slashed the throat of a nearby human archer. "One!"

* * *

Nan Gong Zui fought furiously, his sword noisily clashing against the beastman's axe.

_Upper feint, jab to the left, blow to the elbow, duck the axe, busy, busy, busy-_

"Ha! We're going to win!" the beastman roared, swinging his large, powerful, _incredibly_ slow axe. It was child's play to dodge. On the other hand, the beastman's defense was too high to kill cleanly, so Nan Gong Zui could only whittle down the beastman's HP slowly.

_Hack at the upper elbow, roll to the side, smack head with flat of blade, cut lower knee-_

Nan Gong Zui surveyed the beastman cooly, the blows and blocking never stopping. "I see. So, can you win if you're dead?" He stepped up his pace, attacking faster and faster.

_Heavy blow to head, Waning Blade*, Continuous Strike, thrust to the stomach-_

The beastman couldn't counter most of the blows, since his focus was on power. His wounds started covering every bit of his body, and his HP dropped quickly. His axe missed Nan Gong Zui every time he tried.

"Damn it!" His HP dropped into the red zone, and he panicked. He tried to run, but Nan Gong Zui cut something else every time he tried.

"Final Light*!" The beastman's head flew off, while his body disintegrated into a pillar of white light.

Nan Gong Zui flicked the blood off his sword coldly. "Not much of a fight, was it?"

He turned his head, and was almost trampled by two rampaging warriors, who were shouting various numbers at each other.

"Nine!"

"Ha, ten!"

"Go suck a golf ball!"

"In your dreams!" The shorter-haired blur sliced the head off of a nearby beastman alliance member, and the beastman dissolved into white light, completely surprised. "Eleven!"

_Were they...having a competition...within a competition?_

Nan Gong Zui sighed. "So useless." He glanced over at the holy alliance, and was satisfied to see Madam White Bird leading the charge. "Better go beat up that bastard once more..." He jogged off at an easy pace towards Madam White Bird.

* * *

"Hah...hah..." Completely exhausted, I collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. Night Angel plopped down next to me, breathing heavily.

"Huff...huff...thirteen..."

"Ha! Fifteen!" I raised a fist in victory.

"Got it. I'll buy you some ice cream." Night Angel scanned the arena, and found our group leisurely relaxing. "Looks like they're fine, Keelan."

"Hey, in-game names please." I got up reluctantly to my feet. "Let's go back right around now." Night Angel pulled himself up using my hand for leverage.

"Yeah, and get healed. How much HP do you have left, Nightingale?"

"About ten percent." I answered.

"Ha, I've got twenty."

"Rematch later, and let's get ourselves healed up first." Night Angel and I scanned the battle, and skirted our way around the largest skirmish in the middle. Some people would chase after us, yelling random insults. They stopped yelling insults as their heads rolled.

We met up with our small group, relaxedly killing people.

"Oh, hi, you guys." Dream pulled back the bowstring, her entire body tense.

"Hey." I watched as the arrow cleanly pierced an unfortunate soul's head. Interestingly enough, the arrow shaft froze up, causing that person's head to be trapped in an ice block.

She shrugged, noncommittally. "Ice Storm and I were experimenting. It takes too long to prepare these."

"Ah. How many?"

"Five dead, eight injured. Oh, and I guess one got scared, since he pissed his pants."

"...You really were bored, huh?"

Arachne rose up from the ground. "Obviously. There was nothing to do. All of the pretty guys got killed off. Except for the ones fighting right now. And Prince."

_Prince?_ Curious, I asked, "What is he doing?"

"Killing a whole lot of people. Hasn't gotten hit once. I think he's helping Nan Gong Zui."

"And who's that?"

"Bishie leader of the human group."

"Ah. Thanks." I turned to watch a whole lot of our alliance members get slaughtered by this guy, and Fan stood in the back, commanding smugly. A small exchange between he and Nan Gong Zui happened, and he pissed Nan Gong Zui off fairly quickly.

Nan Gong was actually about to charge Fan when Prince held him back. Fan frowned. His goal had clearly been to have Nan Gong Zui go for a suicidal attack.

"Damn it, knew that elf would mess things up." Fan glared at Prince, clearly unhappy. _This is actually the first time I feel sorry for the dude. Prince, watch your back. _"Doesn't matter; I won't lose to him even if it's just a matter of ability. Everyone, form up, this will end things once and for all."

He noticed me, and waved me over. I turned to our team. "Okay, let's go get killed. Fan wants us here."

We jogged over, avoiding any dying players nearby. Fan quickly directed us towards the back.

Xiao Li's chatter went on and on. "Right now the situation is critical, very critical. According to the data, there are finally less than a hundred people left. We can clearly see the showdown between the two alliances, and it as almost like two armies fighting on a battlefield. From the headcount we can see that the number of players left under the command of Nan Gong Zui is less than that of the alliance led by Fan, the holyman warrior. The situation looks very unfavorable for Nan Gong Zui; has the conclusion already been determined? Or will there be a change?"

"We can see the Blood Elf – who had slaughtered so many players earlier – and his teammates watching from one side. Will they just keep watching? Or will they join in the fray, changing the situation once more?"

I laughed loudly. _Xiao Li's an idiot_. I could see the same thing repeated in Prince's eyes. He was standing at the side of the battle, simply watching, along with around ten others. Having them join us was good, but he helped out Nan Gong earlier to even out the odds. Chances were that they wouldn't join any group, but watch us die together, and KS anyone who survived. Sneaky.

And, as expected, "Prince, help me!" came from Nan Gong. _Sorry, dude. He's not coming._

Prince stayed where he was, his eyes darting back and forth, to the walls, to the battle, anywhere but back at Nan Gong.

Fan smiled so maliciously, I was sure he had some sort of poison for breakfast. "Haha, you really are still naïve, Nan Gong Zui. Did you think he really wanted to help you?"

"He was just worried that we might not be able to perish together in mutual destruction, so he came to intervene. You really thought he did it for the sake of your so-called 'friendship'? I must say, though, I really have to hand it to them. Their grasp of the concept behind the saying 'the clam and the crane quarrel, the fisherman prevails' surpasses even my own, and they're even sneakier bastards than I am." _Woah! He acknowledged someone else as being a sneakier bastard? Actually, my astonishment should be at the fact that Fan even owned up to the fact of being sneaky._ I coughed, surprised at the look in Prince's eyes. He was sincerely torn. _What a good person, _I thought.

Nan Gong looked away from Prince, upset. He started talking rapidly to his troops, and didn't glance in Prince's direction once.

I stared at Prince. _Go, join your friend. _ I sent a mental telegraph his way, and was so focused I didn't even notice the very large meteor shower over the alliance.

_Shit!_ I dodged a meteor, and grabbed Willow out of the way. I watched Night Angel, Arachne, and Ice Storm die instantly. Dream somehow managed to avoid the conflict, and was pushed into the crowd near the middle of the battle.

"Wrath of the Nine Heavens!" A very irritating voice cast another spell, and Dream died too. The spell hit the middle of the battle field, killing off almost sixty people all together with the meteor shower from before. A stray lightning bolt hit Willow and I. He died instantly, having low health. I barely lived, with only eight percent of my health points left.

I collapsed on the ground, panting. The blood poured out of my shoulder, where the bolt had struck. My health was slowly draining away...and the pain became unbearable. _What kind of system is this, to let you die so slowly? Urgh..._ I threw up violently. The HP bar hit three percent.

"Look, everyone! The situation is now truly astonishing as the two teams that have been standing quietly to one side suddenly unleashed two super large-scale spells, _Meteor Shower_ and _Wrath of the Nine Heavens_. The two groups that had been trying to kill each other are now either dead or dying. The Blood Elf saved Nan Gong Zui in the nick of time, and then hauled Fan away as well. However, now the two have once again gotten to their feet in order to fight one another to the death! Just what exactly is going on?" _SHUT UP!_ I made a promise to myself that I would go slaughter Xiao Li one day, even if he was a NPC.

I looked up wearily. _I'm practically dead already, can I just die now?_ Prince appeared in front of me, and I laughed.

"Nice to see you." I coughed, my voice rough and scratchy.

He looked surprised. "Still alive?"

I nodded, slowly. The HP bar was at one percent. "Yeah. No need to kill me, I'm already dead. _Gray Fire_!"

A blazing eruption of oddly colored fire erupted, but unfortunately missed Prince, since he jumped back in time. "What the hell?"

I smiled. "Had to try..." With that, the HP bar hit 0, and my body dissolved into a column of white light, my vision into black.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed!

Still looking for an artist...? *sparkly eyes*

If not, I'll dedicate my summer break to learning to use a tablet and draw a picture. Don't make me do that, I happen to want to sleep the entire summer...


End file.
